The gods and demigods read PJO and HOO series
by Hunter0012
Summary: The demigods are whisked back in time to read all of the PJO and HOO series. ALL of the books. More characters to come and one titan! T because of intense swearing from now on. Enjoy
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I'm starting another fan fiction and as the title says, I will be doing exactly that. I will do every book from the Lightning Thief to the House Of Hades, if it comes out before finishing all the books. Anyways enjoy!**

**CH I **Introduction

**Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase 3****rd**** Person POV**

Percy Jackson was at camp, after all the hassle he had went through. Defeating Gaea, was a biggie. He and Jason had learned to cooperate, and now even the Romans were reunited with the Greeks. They had built underground rail systems, like a rollercoaster, to get to both camps, safe and easy. Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase would finally live a peaceful life. Or would they? Percy Jackson was at the beach with Annabeth. They had brought Coke and were staring at the waves while relaxing in each other's comfort. Suddenly, a bright light illuminated and they were instantly whisked away.

**Thalia Grace and Nico Di Angelo's 3****rd**** Person POV**

Thalia Grace was at camp with her hunters. She was with Nico talking with him about her skills. Nico was bored. He was listening to Thalia rattle on and on about her hunters. Nico finally exasperated said to Thalia, "It was great listening to your adventures, but must you be so boring?" Nico regretted saying that. Immediately, Thalia's eyes narrowed.

"Your dead, Angelo!" she yelled.

Nico was smart enough to run away. Thalia was right in his tail. Nico suddenly tripped and fell on his face. Thalia caught up to him and smirked.

"Finally got you, piece of-"

Immediately a light whisked Thalia and Nico away.

**Jason Grace, and Piper McLean's 3****rd**** person POV**

Jason and Piper were making out at Zeus' cabin. They were watching a romantic movie and had brought popcorn. There was a kissing scene and Jason looked a bit uncomfortable. Piper put a hand on his shoulder and nodded as if saying it's okay or wanna make out. Jason thought it was the second option. He grabbed Piper and started to kiss her. Piper was at first a bit tense, but she slowly released the tension. Suddenly, the bright light illuminated and whisked them away also.

**Reyna and Leo Valdez's 3****rd**** Person POV**

Reyna and Leo were at the creek together.

"Reyna," Leo said, "will you go out with-"

"For the one million and twenty fourth time, NO!" Reyna replied, glaring daggers at Leo.

Leo gave his goofy grin and Reyna rolled her eyes. Then the light whisked them away also.

**Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque's POV**

Frank was at the Roman Camp with Hazel. They were playing their Capture the Flag.

"Frank, over here!" Hazel called out.

"You found the flag?"Frank inquired.

Hazel nodded vigorously. Frank approached her and grabbed the flag.

"Yes!" he yelled.

"Frank, shut up!"Hazel shouted.

It was too late. The other team had spotted them. Immediately, a light whisked them away, leaving the Romans dumbfounded.

**Olympus' POV**

The gods were bickering about the things they usually bicker about. Zeus and Poseidon debated on who was better. Athena and Ares bickered about how many war gods there can be. Apollo and Hermes plotted a prank while Artemis, Hera, Hestia, and Dionysus looked at them warily. Aphrodite and Hephaestus bickered about "cheating" "lousy husbands" and "dumb war gods". Demeter and Hades were arguing about Demeter's daughter Persephone and the rude kidnapping Hades had done. Suddenly a light blinded the throne room and out popped a lot of kids. **(A.N By the way, there are some demigods that I haven't mentioned that are going to come also. It would just take too much time to write on the first page)**

Zeus' voice boomed, "Who are you, intruders!"

"D-dad?" a voice called out.

Zeus and Hera looked shocked, as well as the rest of the Olympians.

"H-how?" Zeus asked.

Thalia pointed at Percy.

"He saved me," she replied.

Zeus looked gratefully at Percy.

"Wait a moment," a dark haired boy with olive skin said, "do you not know us?"

All the gods looked confused.

"What year is this?" a boy with salt and pepper hair asked.

"2002" Athena replied.

The demigods gasped.

"This," Thalia said.

"Is" the olive skinned guy said.

"From" a beautiful girl added.

"The future," the demigods all chorused.

"What?" Hephaestus said, obviously dumbfounded.

Suddenly a big parcel came from the sky and landed on poor Percy's head. He was knocked unconscious.

"Percy!" Annabeth shrieked, "somebody help him!"

Apollo came out and said, "Here let me help out."

He touched Percy's forehead, and immediately Percy got up.

"What was that?" he asked.

Percy teetered to the package and ripped it up. Inside were The Last Olympian and Heroes of Olympus books.

The note read:

_Dear demigods, gods, mortals, and titans,_

_ We have brought these books to tell a tale about Perseus Jackson's life. Please try not to change the future or make assumptions, for that may make the future worse. Make them introduce themselves. There is a very special guest that will come and more will pop out and may stay permanently. The special guest will come right after the introduction. He has sworn on the Styx to not hurt anyone, so don't go all kamikaze on him. Doing so, will result a major war that can't be stopped. Enjoy the tale of the ADHD and dyslexia'd hero._

_ Sincerely,_

_ The Fates_

There was silence, until Zeus motioned with his hands to go on.

"Greetings, I am Nico di Angelo, son of Hades" Nico said.

Hades' eyes went wide, _what about Bianca?_

Meanwhile Zeus yelled, "Brother, you broke the oath!"

"Peace brother," Hades replied calmly, "I put them in the Lotus Hotel and Casino before the pact. Anyways, you broke your oath siring Thalia."

That shut Zeus up.

"I am Perseus Jackson, son of- you will find out later while reading the book." Sea green eyes said.

That sent the demigods in a wave of laughter.

Poseidon raised his eyebrows and Percy nodded.

_If Zeus and Hades finds out, he thought, I'll be screwed._

Zeus huffed and motioned with his hands.

"I'm Frank Zhang, son of Mars," Chinese baby man said.

"Arghhh!" came a strangled stream from Ares.

Everyone turned to look at him and saw that his form was flickering between Mars and Ares.

"What is a roman doing here?" Athena inquired.

"It's in the books," he said.

Athena nodded.

"Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto." A brown girl said.

"BROTHER!" Zeus' voice thundered.

"Please calm down, Lord Zeus, it will be explained," Percy said.

Zeus' eye's looked downright murderous, but he obliged.

"Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus," Leo said.

Hephaestus nodded and smiled. Leo flashed his pearly white, obviously pleased.

Piper rolled her eyes.

"I'm Piper McLean daughter of Aphrodite" a beautiful girl said.

Aphrodite beamed and Piper couldn't help, but smile.

"Jason Grace, son of Jupiter." A blonde guy said.

It was Hades' turn to be angry.

"Ha! You broke the oath twice!" Hades said.

Zeus shrunk in his seat, not wanting an argument.

Hera smiled at him, but Jason only gave a cold stare. Hera frowned at this.

"Reyna, daughter of Bellona." Reyna said.

"Gwen, daughter of ? **(Sorry I don't know who she's the daughter of.)**

"Travis and Connor Stoll, son of Hermes," two twins said.

Hermes smiled and they smiled back.

"Chris, son of Hermes," Chris said.

Hermes' smile grew wider.

"Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter," Katie said.

Demeter beamed and motioned for her to come to her. Katie obliged. She sat down at Demeter's feet. Demeter waved her hands and out popped a bowl of cereal. Katie groaned while Travis laughed.

"Clarisse LaRue, daughter of Ares" a girl with stringy hair said.

Ares smiled and Clarisse smiled. Ares than gave her the death glare and Clarisse returned it just as strong. Ares beamed with pride inside.

"Will Solace, son of Apollo," Will said.

Apollo gave him a thumbs up.

"Last but not least, Annabeth Chase, architect of Olympus, and daughter of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, battle, architecture, strategies-"

She was cut off by Percy when he said sarcastically, "Yeah, like we don't know already."

Jason laughed, beside him. Annabeth wasn't amused. She took out her knife and gazed at it intently.

"You better run Perce," Thalia called out.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" yelled Percy as he raced out of the throne room.

Annabeth ran after him saying, "Come back here you insolent brat!"

The demigods rolled over the floor laughing hard. Meanwhile, the Olympians were looking very amused.

Immediately, there was a blinding light.

"Must be the special guest," Athena assumed.

She was right. Out came a figure. It was… KRONOS!

"Father! What are you doing here!" Poseidon stuttered.

"I was the one, who swore to the fates not to hurt any of you guys. I heard you were reading a book, may I join?" Kronos said.

Thalia and Nico brought out their weapons.

"Now, now, no violence" he said.

"What are you doing here?" Thalia asked, gritting her teeth.

"You know each other?" Zeus inquired.

Kronos glared at the daughter of Zeus.

"It will be explained at the book," Kronos said.

Nico growled, "We're keeping an eye on you."

Percy and Annabeth came back. Percy was cut up in his arm, but they were laughing. They stopped dead in their tracks when the saw Kronos.

"You!" Percy exclaimed. He got out Riptide and lunged at Kronos.

Thalia and Nico held him back.

"He's just hear to read the book with us. He was the one who made the oath." Nico answered.

"Fine!" but I don't trust him" Percy answered.

"Jackson," Kronos growled, "if you dare interfere with my plans again…"

"What plan?" asked Artemis.

Kronos' only answer was "It'll be in the book."

Zeus eyed everyone warily.

"Alright, let's begin the story," Zeus said.

Everyone nodded and sat down somewhere.

"I'll read first," Percy grumbled.

"Who's POV is it on?" Annabeth asked.

Percy looked at the title and was shocked.

"M-me," he stuttered, "it's Percy Jackson series."

Nico and Thalia high fived each other.

"Blackmail time" they said together.

Jason laughed, "Now we'll see what's going on in your head."

Percy groaned while everyone except the Olympians laughed.

Percy read," I cdnlyacitet przvaeio ym rep agbaler tahrece,"

A bunch of What's and Hmmm's were chorused.

"Sorry dyslexia," Percy blushed.

Athena snapped her fingers and it was better.

"Thank you, Lady Athena," Percy said.

She just simply nodded.

He began again, "I Accidently Vaporize my Pre-Algebra Teacher"

**Guess that's the end of the chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it. Please review. There will be a sequel up to the final Hero's of Olympus. I may update tomorrow, but on Thursday I can't. Friday is a maybe, Saturday is a yes, maybe two chapters, Sunday is a no, Monday is a no, and Tuesday is a yes. Anyways enjoy.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys the chapter is here!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO series or HOO series. All rights belong to Rick Riordan.**

CH 2: Reading I accidently vaporize my pre algebra teacher

Percy read, "**Chapter 1: I accidently vaporize my Pre-Algebra teacher"**

"Is that even possible?" Connor asked.

"Yeah," Percy replied.

Poseidon face palmed his face mentally. This was going to be one long night.

**Look I don't want to be a half-blood.**

The demigods all nodded and some even looked downcast.

**If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. **

Percy than replied, "Ok, past me. I will gladly oblige."

He then snapped the book shut.

"Sorry guys," he said, "no blackmail."

The death glares he was getting shook him up.

"Fine, fine," he grumbled as he opened up to the page.

**Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.**

"No parents tell good lies, unless they are a child of Hermes," Travis said.

That got a slap on the head by Katie and a grin by Hermes.

**Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary.**

"Very," Annabeth replied.

**Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful nasty ways.**

The demigods all bowed their heads. The gods raised their eyebrows.

**If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you-**

"Dude!" Jason said, "You have fame and a girlfriend! What more would you want?"

Aphrodite squealed, "Who? Who's your girlfriend!?"

Percy looked at Athena and Poseidon then turned back.

"Um, I can't say, just yet," Percy replied.

Aphrodite looked disappointed.

**for being able to believe that none of this ever happened. But if you recognize yourself in these pages-if you feel something stirring inside-stop reading immediately.**

"I feel stirring in me!" Percy yelped. He was about to close the book when Thalia glared at him.

"I dare you," Thalia said.

Percy gulped and continued reading, ignoring the snickers.

**You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you. Don't say I didn't warn you.**

"YOU DIDN"T WARN US!" everyone chorused except Percy and Poseidon.

**My name is Percy Jackson.**

"Hi Percy Jackson!" Apollo yelled. Artemis slapped him up side the head.

"**I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in the upstate New York. Am I troubled kid?**

"YES!" the room chorused.

Percy grumbled and Poseidon face palmed himself.

**Yeah. You can say that.**

"You admitted it yourself!" Leo exclaimed.

"Thanks for pointing that out," Piper said sarcastically, "captain obvious."

"Awww, I know you love me Beauty Queen," Leo replied.

"Don't call me that!" Piper literally yelled at his face.

**I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan-twenty eight mental-case kids-**

"Your mental?!" Thalia shrieked.

"Oh, the horror," Nico sobbed with fake tears.

"Shut up!" Percy exclaimed.

**And two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.**

"Sounds fun!" Annabeth chirped.

"It is fun my daughter," Athena replied, "I should take you there sometime."

"That would be great!" Annabeth replied.

Athena smiled and replied, "Why don't we all go on a fieldtrip there?"

"NO!" Percy said.

"Excuse me Jackson?" Athena replied.

"Nothing milady," Percy replied stammering.

There were chuckles around the room.

"It is very fun" Athena said.

"More like torture" Poseidon grumbled.

**I know-it sounds like torture.**

Athena's mouth was wide open. She stared at Percy.

"What'd you just say?" she asked.

"Relax, Athena, leave him alone," Poseidon replied.

"Why'd you want to care for him?" Athena retaliated.

"Ummm, I don't know?" he answered back.

_Suspicious _she thought.

**But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes. Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee.**

"_Hmmmm," _Dionysus thought, "_what is Chiron doing there?"_

**You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.**

"You sleep in class?" Athena asked.

"Mom, please" Annabeth replied.

"Fine, just this once," she answered back.

**I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

Thalia snorted.

"Like that will happen," she said.

**Boy, I was wrong.**

Thalia looked smug. Nico wanted to say how no one disagreed with her, but for the safety of his life, he shut his mouth.

**See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway.**

The room burst into laughter. An avalanche of hee's, ha's, and ho's.

"I like this kid!" Hermes exclaimed.

**And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind the scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim.**

Another burst of laughter, that was stronger than the last time.

Apollo fell off his throne laughing.

"This kid is priceless!" Apollo exclaimed.

Hermes was crying tears of laughter.

**And the time before that… Well, you get the idea.**

"No! Don't stop!" Connor yelped while laughing.

**This trip, I was determined to be good.**

Nico snorted.

**All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit. The freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.**

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Annabeth and Thalia growled because of their best friend getting hurt or more likely being pummeled by dirty sandwich.

"Stupid satyr deserve what he got," Zeus growled.

"Dad!" Thalia exclaimed, "please!"

"That arrogant, idiotic, dumb, retarded satyr-"Zeus kept on going.

"Dad! It was my choice!"Thalia exclaimed, "Percy please read."

**Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated.**

"Wimp!" Ares exclaimed.

Clarisse nodded in agreement.

**He must've been held back several grades, because he as the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of that he was crippled.**

"Ahhh, satyrs" Dionysus sighed.

Everyone gaped at him.

"What?"Dionysus asked, "I can listen!"

**He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let the fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

"Way to blow your cover, Grover," Thalia grumbled.

Annabeth just nodded.

**Anyway, Nancy Bobofit, was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation. **

"Seriously Percy," Annabeth huffed, "how many probations have you gotten?"

Percy scratched the back of his neck.

"Approximately 5,235 times," Percy replied.

"WHAT!" exclaimed Annabeth and Athena.

**The headmaster threatened me with death-**

"What! Who dares to kill my- err I mean this demigod over here!" Poseidon exclaimed.

Zeus raised his brows but didn't say anything.

"Relax Lord Poseidon," Thalia replied, "I'm sure there's more."

**by in-school suspension-**

"See?" Thalia replied.

Poseidon just nodded.

"No more interruptions until I interrupt!" Zeus exclaimed.

Yes' were heard around the room.

**If anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.**

"When does anything not entertaining happen?" Apollo asked.

"ARGHH!" Zeus thundered, "Apollo, weren't you listening to what I just said!"

"Yes, father, you just said ARGHHH APOLLO WERENT YOU LISTENING TO WHAT I JUST SAID!" Apollo exclaimed.

Everyone was laughing besides Artemis. Meanwhile Zeus' face looked downright murderous. He death glared Apollo so hard, he made Ares almost pee in his pants.

Apollo gulped and motioned with his hands to go on.

"**I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.**

"DO IT!" Ares yelled.

**Grover tried to calm me down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter." He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch. "That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

"WIMP!" Ares exclaimed.

Zeus replied, "As much as I don't want to agree with you, I agree with you."

Thalia looked at her dad.

"**You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens." **

"That's our scapegoat Percy!" Leo said.

Percy raised an eyebrow.

**Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into. Mr. Brunner led the museum tour. He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery. It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.**

"Longer," Athena said gravely.

"Much much longer," Kronos added.

**He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on top, and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a **_**stele, **_**for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.**

'_Hmmm that sounds familiar' _Hades thought.

**Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown. **

Hades' eyes widened. It must be her.

**From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn.**

"That's supposed to be Nico," Thalia said.

Nico glared at her, but realized it was true.

"Who's that boy's dad?" Apollo asked.

Athena looked at Poseidon and saw the expression. The gears in her head were spinning. Realization dawned on her. She smiled evilly. Poseidon shook his head like he was anxious.

"Daddy?" Athena said, "I think I know who Percy's father is.

"Who?" Zeus asked.

"Poseidon." She said back.

All eyes turned to him. He nodded.

Hades and Zeus abruptly sat up from the throne.

"Calm down brothers," Hestia reasoned, "You guys broke the oath too. So please, these demigods might be of use."

"For your sake Hestia," Zeus sighed, "fine."

**She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month. One time after she'd made me erase out of old workbooks until midnight, I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."**

"GROVER!" everyone exclaimed.

Suddenly a bright light flooded the room and out came Grover.

"W-what am I doing here?" Grover asked.

"We were sent back by times by the fates, to read the Percy Jackson series," Annabeth said, her voice growling in anger.

"Why are you guys staring at me like that?" Grover asked.

"We were at the part where you told Percy about Mrs. Dodds." Thalia replied steely calm.

**Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art. Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and I turned around and said, "Will you shut up?" It came out louder than I meant it to. **

The tension broke. Everyone started to laugh.

**The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story. "Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?" My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir."**

"He must've looked very funny," Annabeth giggled.

"Yup," Grover said, "and stupid too."

Everyone laughed.

**Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?" I looked at the carving, and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it. "That's Kronos eating his kids right?"**

The eldest gods groaned. Kronos also groaned.

"That had to be mentioned?" Demeter asked.

"I guess so," Kronos replied, "Demeter was the most tastiest. Like fruits and berries."

That put the throne room in a shrill of laughter.

"**Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because…"**

"**Well…" I racked my brain to remember.**

"Don't hurt yourself!" Hazel said worriedly.

The laughing continued.

"**Kronos was the king god, and-"**

The laughter abruptly stopped. Zeus glared at Percy while Kronos looked at Percy with pride.

"**God?" Mr. Brunner asked. "Titan," I corrected myself.**

Kronos' smile got wider.

"**And…he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters-"**

"That sensation was horrible," Kronos grumbled.

"Sorry dad," Zeus replied, "Rhea loves me more than any of you."

He got a big glare.

"**Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me. "-and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continued, "and the gods won."**

People were stunned. He had put the most important war in a few sentences.

**Some snickers from the group. Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"**

"SHUT UP!" everyone chorused.

"**And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"**

"BUSTED!" everyone chorused again.

"**Busted," Grover muttered.**

"NO WE THINK LIKE A GOAT!" everyone yet again chorused. Apollo and Hermes started crying fake tears. Ares started to whine, Zeus started to beat himself up, while the rest looked at them weirdly.

"**Shut up," Nancy Bobofit hissed, her face even brighter than her hair. At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears. I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know sir."**

"What do you know?" Thalia asked.

"**I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach.**

"Worst experience ever," Hera simply stated. The others nodded their heads.

**The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus. The darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?" The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around like doofuses.**

"Men are doofuses," Artemis said.

The girls nodded while the men pouted.

**Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson." I knew that was coming. I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner.**** 'Sir?'**

**Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go - intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.**

"Much longer, son," Poseidon replied.

**'You must learn the answer to my question,' Mr. Brunner told me.**

**'About the Titans?'"**

**"'About real life. And how your studies apply to it.'**

**'Oh'**

"Real intelligent, Percy," Frank said.

Percy eyed him warily.

'**What you learn from me,' he said, 'is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.'**

**I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.**

"This guy," Thalia said, "just cares about you!"

"I know now!" Percy grumbled.

**I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armour and shouted: 'What ho!' and challenged us, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever lived, and their mother, and what god they worshipped.**

"I wish I had a teacher like that," said Hazel.

"Yes, it would be great," replied Reyna.

"That's my son," said Kronos.

Thalia eyed him. "You tried to kill your own son!" Thalia growled.

"He was in my way!" Kronos retorted.

"No excuse you pathetic little-" Thalia said.

She lunged at Kronos and Nico and Percy had to hold her back.

"Calm down!" Nico exclaimed.

"Percy, read!" Connor said worriedly, which wasn't like him.

**But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I have never made above a C- in my life. No - he didn't expect me to be **_**as good:**_** he expected me to be **_**better**_**. And I just couldn't learn all those name and facts, much less spell them correctly.**

"Sorry for your dyslexia, sea spawn," Athena said.

Percy was shocked Athena would apologize.

**I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one long sad look at the **_**stele**_**, like he'd been at this girl's funeral.**

"He must've had," Leo snorted.

**He told me to go outside and eat my lunch. The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue. Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city.**

"Woah daddy, why you mad?" Apollo asked.

Zeus rubbed his temples. "I don't know son," Zeus said.

**I figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York State has been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snowstorms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.**

"Ooh, uncle P is mad too!" Apollo exclaimed.

**Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables cracker.**

"Boys," Artemis rolled her eyes.

**Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.**

"Hermes," said Apollo.

"Yeah?"

"Is she your daughter?"

"….."

"….."

"EWWWWW NO WAY JOSE!" Hermes exclaimed.

Everyone burst into laughter.

**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from **_**that**_** school - the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.**

"Sounds just like Percy," Thalia teased.

**"'Detention?' Grover asked.**

**'Nah,' I said. 'Not from Mr. Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometime. I mean - I'm not a genius'"**

"Finally you get something right!" Nico exclaimed.

Thalia and Nico burst into laughter.

"Nico?" Percy said.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Thalia?" Percy said again.

"Yeah Percy?" she replied.

"Shut up," he said calm.

"Yes sir!" they both replied.

**Grover didn't say anything for awhile. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, 'Can I have your apple?'"**

The room burst into laughter.

**I didn't have much of an appetite. so I let him take it. I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from were we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas.**

**I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home.**

"Awwww," the goddesses cooed.

**She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.**

Now all the demigoddess and the goddesses cooed.

**Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized café table.**

"Cool!" Leo exclaimed.

"I'll teach you how to build one," Hephaestus said.

"Okay!" Leo exclaimed.

**I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends - I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists - and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.**

Everyone in the room tensed.

**'Oops.' She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos.**

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose.

**I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, 'Count to ten, get control of your temper.' But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears. I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, 'Percy pushed me!'**

**Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.**

**Some of the kids were whispering:**

**'Did you see - '**

**'- the water -'**

**'- like it grabbed her -'**

The room burst into a standing ovation. Percy stood up and bowed causing everyone to laugh harder.

**I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again. As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester. 'Now, honey -'**

**'I know,' I grumbled. 'A month erasing textbooks.'**

"NO!" Hermes and his kids yelled.

"Never guess your punishment!" they continued on.

**That wasn't the right thing to say.**

The Hermes kids high fived each other.

**'Come with me,' Mrs. Dodds said.**

**'Wait!' Grover yelped. 'It was me. **_**I**_** pushed her.'**

"Awww sweet satyr" Hestia cooed.

Grover blushed.

"You let my daughter die!" Zeus thundered**(no pun intended)**

"Dad please!" Thalia replied, "for the 10 millionth time, I sacrificed myself!"

**I stared at him stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.**

**"She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.**

**'I don't think so, Mr. Underwood,' she said.**

**'But -'**

**'You - **_**will**_** - stay - here.'**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

**'It's okay, man,' I told him. 'Thanks for trying.'**

Everyone nodded.

**'Honey,' Mrs. Dodds barked at me. '**_**Now.**_**'**

**Nancy Bobofit smirked.**

**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare.**

"Not as good as mine," Ares said.

Everyone rolled their eyes besides Clarisse.

**I then turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on. How'd she get there so fast?**

"She isn't human," Hades whispered.

Poseidon whirled around to him.

"Is this one of your abominations?" Poseidon asked.

Hades gulped. "N-n-no." he said.

Poseidon glared at him.

"We'll see, and if she is," Poseidon let the threat hang in the air.

Hades sunk into his throne.

**"I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it.**

**"The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

**I wasn't so sure.**

"Yes Percy," Poseidon said, "trust your instincts,

**I went after Mrs. Dodds.**

**Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.**

Everyone groaned.

**I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall. **

**Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop."**

**But apparently that wasn't the plan.**

Hermes shook his head solemnly.

**I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section. Expect for us, the gallery was empty.**

**Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.**

Poseidon looked terrified.

"Could it be… her?" he said.

He glared at Hades.

**Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds.****Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it...**

"Uh oh" Apollo said.

"Uh oh is right," Poseidon said calmly.

**"' You've been giving us problems, honey,' she said.**

**I did the safe thing. I said, 'Yes, ma'am.'**

Everyone chuckled, although it was heavy, because of the tension.

**She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. 'Did you really think you would get away with it?'**

"Get away with what?" Athena asked.

No one answered.

**The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil. She's a teacher, I tought nervously. it's not like she's going to hurt me.**

**I said, 'I'll - I'll try harder, ma'am.'**

**Thunder shook the building.**

Everyone glared pointedly at Zeus while he just shrugged.

**'We are not fools, Percy Jackson,' Mrs. Dodds said. 'it was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain.'**

**I didn't know what she was talking about.**

"Neither do we," the gods and goddesses chorused.

**All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room."**

That broke the tension. Hermes, Apollo, and the Hermes kid doubled over in laughter.

**"Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on **_**Tom sawyer **_**from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.**

Travis shuddered. "That is worse!" he exclaimed. That got a glare from Athena and Annabeth.

**'Well?' she demanded.**

**'Ma'am, I don't...'**

**'Your time is up,' she hissed. Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.**

"A FURY?!" Poseidon yelled.

He lunged at Hades and started beating him sensless.

"Dad! Calm down, I'm okay!" Percy exclaimed.

Poseidon looked reluctant, although he did.

**"Then thing got even stranger. Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.**

**'What ho, Percy!' he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

**Mrs. Dodds lunged at me.**

**With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear.**

**"I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen any more. It was a sword - Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.**

Everyone breathed calmly. _Riptide _they thought.

**Mrs. Dodds spun towards me with a murderous look in her eyes.**

**My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

"WIMP!" Ares yelled startling everyone. He got toxic water splashed in his face by Poseidon. Seaweed hung from his mouth. Everyone burst into laughter.

**"She snarled, 'Die, honey!'**

**And she flew straight at me.**

Everyone held their breath. What would happen?

**Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.**

"Who swings the sword naturally when they are 12?" Demeter asked.

"We do," chorused the demigods.

**The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. **_**Hiss!**_

**Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow dust, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.**

"That's creepy," Leo, "but nice job man!"

Everyone cheered. Jason clapped him on the back and Annabeth snuggled with him. All the gods started wanting his autographs.

"ENOUGH!" Zeus thundered.

Everyone looked at him.

"Me first, because I am the king of the gods!" he exclaimed.

Everyone doubled over in laughter.

**There was a ballpoint pent in my hand.**

**Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.**

**My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.**

"I like this kid!" said Apollo.

Hermes nodded in agreement.

**Had I imagined the whole thing?**

"I don't think so!" Annabeth exclaimed.

**I went back outside.**

**It had started to rain.**

**Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, 'I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt.'**

"Who?" Thalia and Nico asked.

**"I said, 'Who?'**

"Oh no we think like-," they began to say.

"Not one word," Percy replied.

"Aye aye captain" they replied.

**"'Our **_**teacher.**_** Duh!'**

**I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about. She just rolled her eyes and turned away.**

**I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

Everyone grumbled.

"Sorry guys," he said

**"He said, 'Who?'**

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

"Boys teach him to lie properly at camp!" Hermes said.

"Yes dad!" the Hermes kids chorused.

**"'Not funny, man,' I told him. 'This is serious.'**

**Thunder boomed overhead.**

"Can you stop with the thunder thing?" Hera raged.

"Sorry my dove," Zeus replied.

Aphrodite squealed.

Ares winced. "I'm going to need ear plugs if I'm going to be with this girl!" Ares exclaimed.

Aphrodite glared.

**I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he never moved.**

**I went over to him,**

"Whew," Hermes said, "now Chiron can lie."

**He looked up, a little distracted. 'Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson.**

"Way to confuse him Chiron," Annabeth muttered.

**I handed it over. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.**

**'Sir,' I said, 'where's Mrs. Dodds?'**

**He stared at me blankly. 'Who?'**

Everyone grinned.

**'The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The maths teacher.'**

**He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned.**

**'Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?'"**

"Oh I feel sad for you Percy!" Nico laughed.

"Yeah me too," he replied.

Percy stayed silent.

"WELL?" everyone chorused, "READ!"

Creepy Percy thought.

"It's the end of the chapter guys.

"OH!" everyone chorused again.

"I'll read next," Annabeth replied.

Percy handed the book to her, more like accidently threw the book to her. It got her straight in the face.

"OW!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"Sorry, my dear," Percy replied.

"It's alright," Annabeth replied as they kissed.

Aphrodite squealed. Ares took out his plugs. "Nice try baby," he said, "ultra ear plugs made my Hephaestus. Thanks bro."

Hephaestus looked at him "That'll be 9999999999999999999999999999 9999999999999999999999999999 9999999999999999999999999999 9999999999999999999999999999 9999999999999999999999999999 9999999999999999999999999999 9999999999999999999999999999 9999999999 drachmas."

Ares' jaw dropped as everyone laughed.

"Kidding!" Heph said quickly.

"Read Annabeth," Athena said.

**Ok guys end of chapter. Sorry if the last part came out weird. Anyways enjoy! And don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**"Three old ladies knit the socks of death..."**

"Why do I have a feeling I'm going to have a heart attack in this chapter?" Poseidon asked.

"HEART ATTACK," Zeus and Hades chanted, "HEART ATTACK, HEART ATTACK!"

"Will you shut up?" Poseidon asked.

**I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly.** **This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle.**

"Yup for any demigod it would be," Hera said.

**For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. ** **The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr—a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip—had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.**

"Ahh, the mist, the best thing in the whole world," said Apollo.

"What about your oracle?" Artemis asked.

"Oh yeah, that too," he replied, "and flirting with your hunters."

Artemis shouted in his face, "Don't you dare, flirt with my hunters!"

"TAKE A CHILL PILL!" he replied and ended up having an arrow stuck to his eyeballs.

He screamed in pain.

Everyone laughed.

**Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.** **It got so I almost believed them—Mrs. Dodds had never existed.** **Almost.**

Everyone groaned.

"Sorry guys," Grover replied.

**But Grover couldn't fool me.**

"Can you fool anyone you miserable satyr?" Zeus asked.

"DAD!" Thalia shouted, "PLEASE!"

**When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, and then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying.**

"Kids," Hermes said, "teach him to lie at camp immediately!"

"YES SIR!" the Hermes kids shouted.

**Something was going on. Something **_**had **_**happened at the museum.** **I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.**

Piper shuddered. "I hate those dreams," she said.

"Same here," the demigods said.

**The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room.**

"You were trying to kill Percy!" Poseidon yelled.

**A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy.**

"Are you mad?!" Poseidon shrieked.

"Peace brother, let's wait until this chapter," Zeus replied.

**One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.**

"You, destroying precious planes!" Zeus yelled, "you will pay for this!"

Zeus got a thunderbolt in his hand. Poseidon got out his trident and the weather on Olympus darkened. Demigods feared for their lives.

"Calm down!" Hera yelled, "both of you in your seats!"

Glaring, they sat back down.

**I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs.**

"Horrible, just horrible," Athena said.

**I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.** **Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot.**

Annabeth giggled. Her giggling turned into huge laughter.

"What's so funny?" Leo asked.

"An old sot means drunk." Annabeth replied laughing. The whole council burst into laughter.

**I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.**

Everyone laughed even harder.

**The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.**

"Ughhh, Percy, any other schools you were kicked out from?" Reyna asked.

"Yes," Percy replied.

**Fine, I told myself. Just fine.** **I was homesick.** **I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.**

Percy growled. The sky darkened. Rain began to fall down.

"Calm down Perseus Jackson!" Annabeth yelled. He didn't. She did something that probably jeopardized his life. She kissed him full in the lips. He calmed down immediately. To say Athena was shocked was an understatement. She was furious.

"SEA SPAWN!" she howled, "how dare you date my daughter?!"

"Mom," Annabeth replied, "please calm down. He treats me well and he loves me. You can't break our love and I won't allow it!"

Athena glared at Annabeth and her eyes flared. Just before she could do something stupid, she calmed down.

Aphrodite replied, "You can't break true love. Just read and at the end of the chapter, we'll continue this conversation."

Everyone was surprised.

**And yet... there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view** **of the woods outside my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend,** **I'd miss Latin class, too—Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well.**

"The only teacher that believes in him," Reyna sighed.

**As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for.**

"At least you studied," Athena mumbled.

**I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.** \

"Good, believe in him," Poseidon sighed.

**The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the **_**Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology **_**across my dorm room. **

"DON'T TRREAT BOOKS LIKE THAT!" Athena yelled.

"I'm sorry, I'll try harder." Percy said.

**Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards. There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon,** **or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs?**

"Huh what irony," Annabeth said, "we met Charon and he confused him for Chiron."

Everyone laughed.

Poseidon said," You went to the Underworld?!"

"Yes dad, you'll see why later." Percy said.

**Forget it.** **I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.**

"Red ants in your shirt, will make a reaction hilarious," Travis said mischievously.

"NO!" everyone yelled.

**I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. **_**I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.**_ **I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.** **I'd never asked a teacher for help before. **

"Maybe you should," Athena said.

**Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. **

"So pessimistic," Annabeth sighed.

**I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.** **I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.** **I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said,**_**"...**_ **worried about Percy, sir."** **I froze.** **I'm not usually an eavesdropper**

"Not an eavesdropper my ass," Clarisse yelled

**,** **but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult. **

"You got a point," Piper said.

**I inched closer.** **"... alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the **_**school**_**! **

"Sent by HADES!" Poseidon yelled.

**Now that we know for sure, and **_**they **_**know too—"** **"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."** **"But he may not have time. The summer solstice dead line— **_**"**_ **"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover.**

"That is nowhere near possible," Annabeth said.

"Thank you captain obvious" Percy said.

"Percy?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Did you know that a sharp sword hurts?" she asked, "especially on the face?"

"Yes," he replied, "I do know that."

Annabeth rolled her eyes at his antics and swiped his face with her sword.

"OWW!" he yelped," what's that for?!"

"Oh your so slow, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth replied.

Giggles were stifled.

**Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."**

**"Sir, he **_**saw **_**her..."**

**"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."**

"I knew it," Percy growled.

**"Sir, I ... I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."**

"Yes," Zeus cackled, "I would blast you into dust and kill you even more in Tartarus."

Grover whimpered.

"DAD!" Thalia yelled.

**"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"**

"Looks like your plan will fail."

**The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.** **Mr. Brunner went silent.**

"Oh no Percy," Hermes whispered.

**My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.** **A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.**

"Chiron in all his glory," Piper said in awe.

"Do you know how wrong it sounds?!" Leo asked, cracking up.

Piper shoved him, "SHUT UP!"

**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.** **A few seconds later I heard a slow **_**clop-clop-clop, **_**like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, and then moved on.**

"That was so close Percy!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"Yep," Percy shuddered, as he remembered that night.

**A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.** **Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."** **"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn ..."** **"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."**

"Exams, Percy," Athena said, "you better get an A or else I'll blast you to dust."

"Umm," Percy stuttered, "Y-y-es mam".

Giggles were heard.

**"Don't remind me."** **The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.** **I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.** **Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.** **Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.** **"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"** **I didn't answer.** **"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"** **Just... tired. I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.**

"That won't work," Annabeth said.

"Stop treating me like I'm stupid! I know!" Percy replied.

"Yeah right," Nico snorted.

"I agree with death breath over here," Thalia said.

"Meanies," Percy whispered under his breath.

**I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the ** **whole thing.** **But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. **

"No shit!" Thalia said.

"LANGUAGE!" Zeus, Artemis, and Hera yelled.

"Fine," Thalia huffed.

"Don't you dare use that tone on me!" Hera reprimanded.

"What are you gonna do, cow dung?" Thalia retorted.

"Why you insolent brat!" She glowed until Zeus intervened.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled. Hera shrunk back.

**They thought I was in some kind of danger.** **The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam,** **my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.** **For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, **

"That'd be horrible," Piper shuddered.

**but that didn't seem to be the problem.** **"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's ... it's for the best."** **His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. **

"Ooh Chiron," Annabeth sighed, "way to break his heart."

"EEEK!" Aphrodite squealed.

"Don't be gay you perv!" Annabeth yelled.

**Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.** **I mumbled, "Okay, sir."** **"I mean ..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."** **My eyes stung.**

"Wimp!" Ares yelled.

He got doused by cold water from the Atlantic.

**Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it.**

"He didn't mean it like that, Perce," Nico said, punching my arm.

"I know now!" Percy glared.

**After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.** **"Right," I said, trembling.**

Aphrodite shed a tear. "So emotional," she said, in a gasp.

**"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be—"**

Everyone groaned. They knew how this would turn out.

**"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."** **"Percy"** **But I was already gone.**

The room was silent and put their head down. Besides Ares who was laughing like an evil maniac. He found his face drenched in mollusks.

**On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.** **The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. **

"Switzerland! Sounds fun!" Demeter said.

"How do you know about Switz?" Hades asked.

"I'm not stupid!" she replied.

Hades and Nico stifled laughs.

**Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. **

"Cruising! Lucky!" Percy said.

"I'll take you there sometime," Poseidon said.

"Yay!" Percy replied.

**They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were **_**rich **_**juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. **

"And I'm a god!" Poseidon said dramatically.

"No shit!" Zeus replied, "you're a homeless fish wannabe!"

"You dare!" Poseidon roared, but everyone was laughing.

**I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.**

"OOOOH Uncle P, you got dissed!" Ares said.

"Everyone got dissed here!" Thalia said glaring at Percy.

**They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.** **What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.** **"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."** **They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.**

"That's rude!" Hera yelled, "you call that family?"

"Now, now darling," Zeus calmed, "let the lectures come later on."

**The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had,** **so there we were, together again, heading into the city.**

"Ahh Grover," Annabeth sighed, "keep him out of trouble please?"

"He's hard to control like an animal, but will do!" Grover said.

The room burst into laughter and Percy huffed.

**During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen.**

"Something bad indeed happened," Grover said, with a grim face.

"What? What happened?!" said a very paranoid Poseidon.

"It's mentioned in the book," said Grover.

Athena rolled her eyes. Was Poseidon that slow? I mean the title for gods sake.

**Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.** **Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.** **I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"**

"That oughta give that satyr a heart attack," Dionysus said, yawning.

**Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha—what do you mean?"**

"Dang it!" said Zeus, "so close!"

Thalia rolled her eyes.

**I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.**

"NO!" said Hermes, "never tell anyone what you did!"

**Grover's eye twitched. "How much **_**did **_**you hear?"** **"Oh ... not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"**

"The lightning bolt robbery," Percy muttered. Annabeth elbowed him in the ribs.

**He winced. "Look, Percy ... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers …"** **"Grover—"** **"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, **

"You're a really really bad liar," said Perseus Jackson.

"Yeah, no need to tell me twice," Grover replied.

**and ..."** **"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."**

"Woah, kelp for brains is repeating himself!" said Thalia.

**His ears turned pink.** **From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer.** **The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:**

**Grover Underwood**

**Keeper**

**Half-Blood Hill**

**Long Island, New York**

**(800) 009-0009**

**"What's Half—"**

"Why'd you put it like that?" asked Athena.

Dionysus yawned, "I love the faces on the demigods face, goddess of "wisdom," Dionysus said.

Athena's eyes flared. Dionysus gulped.

"Sorry son," said Zeus, "but if you make Athena mad, even I can't help you."

Dionysus started shaking.

"After this chapter," said Athena, "your dead."

**"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um ... summer address."** **My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.**

"GROVER, RICH?!" said Percy, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Shut up!" replied Grover.

**"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."**

Hermes snorted, "Mansion."

**He nodded. "Or...or if you need me."** **"Why would I need you?"**

"Ouch," said Reyna.

"Hope you regretted it boy," Artemis said.

**It came out harsher than I meant it to. **

Artemis blinked. "Good, she said."

That surprised everyone.

**Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you."**

"Yes, you satyr, you had to protect him. What about my daughter huh? You left her to die and now you shall feel my wrath," Zeus thundered. He took out his lightning and aimed it at Grover. He ran behind Thalia.

"Dad!" Thalia said, "please calm down!"

"Yeah dad," Jason said, "listen to her once!"

"Fine," Zeus huffed.

**I stared at him.** **All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. **

"Aw, that is so sweet," cooed Hestia.

**And here he was acting like he was the one who defended **_**me.**_

"Well, he kinda did," said Nico putting a hand on Grover.

**"Grover," I said, "What exactly are you protecting me from?"**

"Hmmm," said Thalia, "monsters, angry gods and those other people."

"I know that now!" Percy huffed.

**There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs.**

"MMMMM," said Apollo, "rotten eggs."

"What is wrong with you?!" yelled Artemis as she shoved him.

**The driver cursed and steered the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.**

"Hope the driver didn't say any bad words," Hestia said worried.

"No, milady," Percy replied.

**After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. **

"In the middle of the road?!" Poseidon yelled.

"OWW!" Zeus said, "that hurt!"

**Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.** **We were on a stretch of country road—no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.** **The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice**_**. **_

"Suspicious," said Athena.

No one dared replied.

**There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.** **I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. **

"Oh no," Poseidon thought.

"Oh yes," Percy muttered back..

**The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.** **All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.**

"The fates," Poseidon whispered.

The room was silent.

**The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.**

"No, no, no, no," Poseidon chanted.

**I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.** **"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man—"** **"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"** **"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"**

"Not the right time," Ares said.

Athena nodded, shocking everyone.

**"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."** **The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.** **"We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."**

"Listen to him, my son," Poseidon replied.

**"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there." "Come on!'" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.**

"No," everyone groaned.

**Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that **_**snip **_**across four lanes of traffic.**

Annabeth was crying and Poseidon was hyperventilating.

**Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for—Sasquatch or Godzilla. **

Despite the tension, some cracked a smile.

**At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.**

"It's about time," Poseidon said.

**The passengers cheered.** **"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

"YES!" Poseidon yelled, "back on board!"

**Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.** **At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.** **The passengers cheered.** **"Darn right!" yelled the driver. **

"Darn right!" everyone yelled also.

**He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"** **Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.**

"Oh no," Poseidon whimpered.

**"What last time?"** **"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."**

Zeus eyed Grover.

**"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"** **"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."**

"Promise him," Poseidon said.

**This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.** **Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.** **No answer.** **"Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"**

"Yes," Hades said grimly.

**He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.**

"DONE!" Annabeth yelled. She handed the book to Thalia.

"Read next," she said.

**Alright, chapter 2 is up. Thanks for your reviews and favorites. Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright guys, sorry for the hold up, another chapter is here.**

"**Grover Unexpectedly Loses his Pants."**

Thalia looked grossed out.

"Is that possible?" she asked.

"Yes, that is," said Grover as he began to take off his pants.

All the girls squealed and looked grossed out. Thalia pushed Grover.

"I didn't mean it that way!" she yelled.

**Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.**

****"Why, oh why Percy?" Travis asked.

"Ummmmm," Percy said, his face red.

**I know, I know. It was rude. But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man, muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be sixth grade?"**

Thalia sighed.

"Once again, Grover, it wasn't your fault." Thalia said.

"It is," Grover grumbled.

Zeus looked like he was about to say something but the look from Thalia and Jason kept him quiet.

**Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom.**

"Grover?" Connor asked.

"Yeah?" Grover replied.

"Do you actually, you know, in the restroom?" Connor asked.

"Number 1 or Number 2?" Grover asked.

Connor nodded.

"Yep," Grover replied, "#1."

"Ewwwwww!" was heard from all the girls. There was suddenly a golden light and BOOM, at the middle of the room was a baby with sea green eyes.

"Percy?" Annabeth said, wide eyed.

"Me?" Percy said, not breathing.

"Son?" Poseidon asked surprised.

"Gah gah," Baby Percy replied.

"He's so cute!"Aphrodite squealed. She ran to get Percy and put her on her lap.

"Who's a little boy? Who's a good little boy?" Aphrodite squealed while rubbing his tummy. Lil' Percy laughed with joy.

"He's so cute!" Aphrodite said as she held on to him.

**Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.**

"That is so sweet!" Aphrodite yelled.

Hera nodded in agreement.

"Family first," Hera said.

Hephaestus was about to say something when he was cut off by Hera.

**"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," I told the driver.** **A word about my mother, before you meet her.**

"Best person in the world," Percy said.

"Amazing cookies," Thalia said.

"So smart and so sweet," Annabeth replied.

"Kind and not so full of herself," Nico replied.

"You have the best mom," the trio said.

Percy nodded and smiled.

**Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world,**

Everyone smiled.

**which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck.**

Their smile turned into frowns.

**Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, **

Everyone glared at Zeus and Zeus started growing uncomfortable. Poseidon growled.

**and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, **

"What kind?" Hestia asked.

"Ummm," Percy said, scratching his head, "I think it was leukemia."

"Poor thing," Hestia cooed.

"You actually know what leukemia is?" Annabeth asked.

"Wow," Thalia replied, "old seaweed knows something."

"Yeah, that's right, Thalia," Percy replied.

**and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.**

"So sad," Hera said a tear out of her eye.

Everyone was shocked.

**The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.**

Poseidon smirked while Aphrodite squealed on and on about true love.

**I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile. My mom doesn't like to talk about him because **_**it **_**makes her sad. She has no pictures.**

"Maybe I should get her one," Poseidon thought, "nahhh, that might somehow give away my position.

**See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.**

"Sorry son," Poseidon said.

"It's ok," the both Percy's replied.

They stared at each other and burst out laughing. The rest of the counsel joined in.

**Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.**

"She is smart, Poseidon," Athena said.

"Thank you," he replied.

"How?" she thought, "he isn't being egolastical like he always does."

Poseidon smiled and Athena blushed.

**She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.**

"We all aren't," the demigods all sighed.

Another blast of light and there in the middle of the room was a 12 year old boy and girl.

"Where are we?" the girl asked.

"I don't know," the guy replied, "the first thing I return to camp to see you, you tell me that you wrote a letter to your dad and you have to go home."

"I took your advice Percy," the blonde said.

"Yea, yea, Annabeth." Percy replied.

They all gasped.

"Your Percy? 12 year old?" the actual Percy asked.

"Yes," 12 year old Percy replied.

"Is this me from the future?" 12 year old Percy said.

"Yes," the real Percy said.

"Woah," the 12 year old Percy said.

"Yeah," Percy replied," we're reading about our first adventure."

"The lightning thief, eh?" PJ asked.

Percy nodded.

**(I'll be calling baby Percy lil' Percy, I'll call 12 year old Percy PJ and the actual Percy, Percy. Same for Annabeth. 12 year old AC, the real one , Annabeth.)**

**Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him,**

Percy and PJ looked at each other murderously.

**then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. When I was young, I nick named him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.**

"EWWWW!" Aphrodite yelled.

"You don't know the half of it," PJ muttered.

**Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along ... well, when I came home is a good example.**

"I'm ready to pound his ass," Poseidon murmured.

"Pound ass?" Lil' Percy asked.

"POSEIDON!" Hera yelled, "stop teaching little kids bad words."

"Oops, sorry," Poseidon replied and with the wave of his hands Lil' Percy fell asleep.

**I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.**

"Sounds just like Ares' house," Hephaestus replied.

"Alright, crippled faggit, your dead," Ares replied.

Hephaestus sized him up and set his whole body on fire.

"RARRR!" he yelled.

"Ahhhhhh!" Ares replied back like a little girl.

Everyone laughed.

**Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."**

**"Where's my mom?"**

**"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"**

"What kind of rude bastard says that to his stepson when he gets back from school?!" Hera yelled.

**That was it. No **_**Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?**_** Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.**

Aphrodite snorted. As if.

**He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. **

"What a pig!" Artemis screeched.

Thalia replied, "Men are pigs lady Artemis."

Artemis just nodded while the men huffed in indignance.

**Always beer. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.**

Poseidon growled a bloodcurdling growl.

"If he touches you, I swear I'll tear him apart," Annabeth said sternly.

Thalia literally had sparks coming out of her and the room darkened because of Nico's rage that dwelled deep inside of him.

**"I don't have any cash," I told him.**

**He raised a greasy eyebrow.**

**Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.**

"True, true," Poseidon said still growling.

**"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. "Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"**

"Wrong!" Nico snarled.

**Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy.**

"At least he has sense," Artemis replied.

**"Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."**

Everyone nodded in agreement.

**"Am I **_**right**_**?**_**" **_**Gabe repeated.**

**Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.**

"Yuck!" Aphrodite replied.

"Indeed," Artemis replied, "men are greasy pigs."

"Hey!" the men said indignantly.

**"Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."**

"Done," the gods replied simultaneously.

**"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"**

"That guy has a point," Athena replied.

Everyone looked at her.

"Don't worry," Athena replied, "that guy is still an asshole."

**I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study."**

"Emphasis on study," Percy said.

**He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.**

"That guy is one sick man," Kronos said.

Demeter raised her eyebrows.

"Says the father, who ate all of us except Zeus," Demeter retorted.

"Hey, I was just trying to prevent you guys from overthrowing me," Kronos replied.

"By eating us?!" Hades cried, "that is sick!"

"Enough!" Zeus said.

**I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.**

"Percy Jackson," Leo said, "king of sarcasm."

Everyone rolled their eyes, but knew it was true.

**Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds,**

"True that," Hades said proudly.

**or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.**

Instantly everyone turned pale.

"No son," Poseidon replied, "it's not true."

**But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic—how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. **

"Which you broke," Thalia said.

"Percy breaks every promises," Nico replied and Thalia and Nico both burst into laughter.

Percy had a eerie looking face.

He whispered, "Do I?"

Thalia and Nico both shut up and both went crazy.

"No!" Thalia replied.

"We were lying!" Nico replied.

"Sorry!" Nico said.

"Really!" Thalia said.

"Why are they acting like that?" Jason asked.

Annabeth replied, "Percy never breaks promises and he was pissed because of a false accusation and when Percy gets mad, watch out."

**A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone—something—was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.**

Poseidon turned pale.

**Then I heard my mom's voice. "Percy?"**

Poseidon looked at Percy in horror.

"You think your moms a monster?" he asked.

"No! Dad, it felt like a monster was coming up, but it wasn't!" Percy replied.

**She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted.**

"What a good boy!" Hestia replied.

Percy blushed.

**My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room.**

Clarisse said, "What a mommas boy."

Everyone laughed.

**Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few grey streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. **

"Never," Poseidon said.

**When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.**

"That's why everyone likes Sally," Thalia replied and everyone nodded.

**"Oh, Percy." she hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!"**

"You have?" Thalia said weirdly.

**Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central.**

"Yummm," Connor and Travis both moaned.

Percy snapped his fingers and immediately almost all the enjoyable candies came out.

Everyone looked at Percy in shock.

"How'd you do that?" Thalia asked.

"You'll see," Percy replied as he smiled.

**She'd brought me a huge bag of 'free samples', the way she always did when I come home.**

"Lucky!" Travis and Connor said, with a mischievous smirk in his eyes.

"You won't kidnap her!" Percy yelled.

"Dang it!" Connor replied.

"You were really about to?" Percy asked.

"Yes," Travis said.

In a blink of an eye, Connor was on the floor bleeding and Travis had Riptide pointing at his chin.

"You were saying?" Percy snarled.

"N-n-nothing," Travis replied.

Percy dug it in.

Travis was gasping for air.

"Percy stop!" Annabeth yelled.

Percy's glare softened and dropped Travis to the ground.

"Please Percy," Travis asked, "we were lying."

"Don't pull this shit again," he replied.

They both nodded.

Athena sighed, "Personal loyalty, never threaten to do anything to his loved ones,"

The Stolls and everyone nodded.

**We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in my letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing all right?**

Clarisse eyed Percy and saw him still glaring. Clarisse wisely decided to hold her tongue.

**I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.**

"Men," Artemis snorted, "afraid to admit anything."

"We men can admit!" Apollo said while the males nodded.

**From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally—how about some bean dip, huh?"**

Poseidon started to get off his throne, but everyone Zeus held him back.

"Not yet brother," Zeus replied.

Everyone nodded.

**I gritted my teeth.**

As did everyone else.

**My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.**

"Or a god, hmmm?" Apollo said looking at Uncle P.

**For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin.**

"Yes Percy, you've done pretty well," Poseidon replied.

"How would you know?" Percy asked.

"You just said it!" Poseidon replied.

"Oh," Percy said.

**And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself.**

"Almost," Thalia groaned.

**I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad.**

"Yes, hero," Hestia said softly, "so much problems are in your hand, you just can't control them all.

**Until that trip to the museum.**

"What happened at that trip?" Dionysus asked.

"Were you listening you old drunk?!" Ares replied, but when everyone looked at Dionysus, he had secretly fallen asleep.

**"What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"**

"Yes," everyone said.

**"No, Mom."**

"Don't lie to your mom!" Nico said.

"It makes matters worse," Thalia also said.

**I felt bad lying. I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid.'**

"She married to a god," Athena said, "a stupid one, so of course it wouldn't be stupid!"

Everyone laughed as Poseidon huffed.

**She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but she didn't push me.**

"Wow," Hera replied, "a very nice mom."

**"I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."**

Poseidon's eye widened. "Montauk?"

**My eyes widened. "Montauk?"**

Everyone laughed.

"Like father, like son," Hermes said.

**"Three nights—same cabin."**

Poseidon smiled.

**"When?"**

"Soon," Poseidon replied.

**She smiled. "As soon as I get changed."**

"I was right," Poseidon smirked.

"No one asked, Fish face," Athena replied.

**I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.**

"What a lying son of a biatch!" Thalia replied.

"LANGUAGE!" Artemis, Zeus, and Hera replied.

Thalia didn't want another argument so she shut up.

**Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"**

Poseidon growled and the throne room had an earthquake.

"POSEIDON!" Zeus yelled, "STOP IT THIS INSTANT!"

Poseidon's eye screamed bloody murder, but he kept quiet.

**I wanted to punch him, but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.**

"Yes, get out of here," Poseidon said dangerously calm.

**"I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip."**

**Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"**

**"I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go."**

"Oh he better," Poseidon growled.

**"Of course he will," my mom said evenly. "Your step father is just worried about money. That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works."**

"Ahh the power of bribery, I like your wife Uncle P," Hermes said.

Poseidon just smiled.

**Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip ... it comes out of your clothes budget, right?"**

Aphrodite's eyes twitched.

"Uh oh," Ares replied, "She's gonna blow!"

Everyone divebombed their thrones as Aphrodite let out a shriek that shook the foundations of Olympus.

"Aphrodite!" Zeus yelled, "I'll give you permission to kill him after this book so calm down!"

That calmed her down.

**"Yes, honey," my mother said.**

**"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."**

**"We'll be very careful."**

"Knowing Percy, that won't happen.

"Yep, it didn't," PJ and Percy replied.

They smiled at each other.

**Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip ... And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game."**

"Why should he apologize, you pig!" Poseidon yelled.

**Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week.**

Everyone laughed.

"We should do that," said Percy. "Lord Hades?"

"I would gladly oblige," Hades said smiling.

**But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad.**

**Why did she put up with this guy? I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought?**

**"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."**

"King of sarcasm strikes back!" Travis and Connor yelled.

Katie hit them both on the head.

**Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.**

Snickers were heard around the room.

**"Yeah, whatever," he decided.**

**He went back to his game.**

"Thank the gods!" Poseidon yelled.

"Your welcome," Apollo goofed.

He got hit in the head by Artemis.

**"Thank you, Percy," my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about... whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"**

"You never get to do that, right?" Poseidon asked.

Percy nodded.

**For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes—the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride—as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air.**

"She must've, young hero," Hestia replied.

**But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip.**

"I feel bad for your mom," Hera sighed.

**An hour later we were ready to leave.**

**Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car. He kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking—and more important, his '78 Camaro—for the whole weekend.**

"Tell that greasy pig to shut the Tartarus up!" Poseidon yelled.

**"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch." Like I'd be the one driving.**

"Brainboy!" Poseidon yelled, "what's that supposed to mean!"

**I was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.**

"That wretched jerk," Aphrodite growled.

"Care to join me Poseidon?" Aphrodite asked.

Poseidon grinned evilly.

**Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain. As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe. The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the stair case as if he'd been shot from a cannon. **

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" everyone laughed. Poseidon and Aphrodite the hardest.

**Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.**

"It's just you!" Thalia said still laughing.

**I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it.**

**Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets,**

Athena and Annabeth cringed.

**and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.**

"This time it won't be," Posedion replied and earned a grin from Percy.

**I loved the place.**

**We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met my dad.**

"AWWWW," all the goddess cooed.

**As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea.**

"She must still love you Uncle P," replied Hermes.

**We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.**

"Why the blue food?" Zeus asked.

No one repelied

**I guess I should explain the blue food.**

"Yes, please do," Zeus replied, "it's confusing me."

**See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This—along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano—was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me.**

A choruses of OHH's were heard around the room.

**When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows.**

"Don't forget cocoa!" Percy replied.

"And smores!" PJ also replied.

**Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash.**

"Zeus?" Poseidon's voice said dangerously calm. Zeus looked down.

**She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.** **Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk—my father. Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.**

"She still misses you Poseidon," Aphrodite sniffed in tears.

**"He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes."**

"Yes, Athena, and Zeus." Poseidon replied, "Handsome and powerful."

They rolled their eyes as everyone laughed.

**Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."**

"I am indeed very proud," Poseidon replied.

All the Percy's smiled and almost all the demigods smiled.

**I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.**

"Yes, but your attitude is what makes me proud," Poseidon replied.

**"How old was I?" I asked. "I mean ... when he left?"**

**She watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."**

**"But... he knew me as a baby."**

**"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."**

Poseidon looked down and muttered about stupid rules.

**I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember ... something about my father. A warm glow. A smile.**

"Yes, Percy," Poseidon replied, "I visited you."

**I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still, I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never even seen me...** **I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.**

"I'm sorry Percy," Poseidon said misty eyed.

"It's ok dad," Percy replied.

Aphrodite was in tears as so was almost all the females.

**"Are you going to send me away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"**

"No!" Poseidon growled.

**She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.**

**"I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think ... I think we'll have to do something."**

**"Because you don't want me around?"**

Everyone flinched.

"Percy, not the right thing," Piper replied.

**I regretted the words as soon as they were out.**

"You are different from other males," Artemis replied.

Apollo caught her staring and found something in her eyes, maybe love?

Apollo shook his head. His sister would never fall in love.

**Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said—that it was best for me to leave Yancy.**

Everyone flinched again.

**"Because I'm not normal," I said.**

"All demigods aren't Percy," Hestia said gently.

Percy sent a small smile.

**"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."**

"We aren't safe from anything," Reyna said seriously.

Everyone nodded.

**"Safe from what?"**

"Monsters," Thalia said.

**She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me—all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget.**

Poseidon flinched.

**During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.**

"A Cyclops?" everyone asked.

"Just trying to keep Percy safe," Poseidon replied.

**Before that—a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.**

Everyone looked at Hera.

"I swear it wasn't me," she replied.

**In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.**

"I understand Percy," Thalia replied.

Percy was stunned. His cousin hadn't made a joke.

**I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. But I couldn't make myself tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.**

"True, true," Poseidon said, "you still need to tell her."

**"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy—the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can't stand to do it."**

"It's hard for everyone," Hestia said.

**"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"**

**"Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."**

"CAMP HALF BLOOD!" all the graecus cheered.

**My head was spinning. Why would my dad—who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born— talk to my mom about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?**

"Because the less you knew about it, the less monsters you'd attract," Nico said.

Everyone looked at him strangely.

"What?" he asked.

"You'll see," replied Percy.

**"I'm sorry, Percy," she said, seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I—I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."**

"It won't," Poseidon growled, "I won't allow that!"

**"For good? But if it's only a summer camp ..."**

**She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.**

"Percy," Artemis replied sternly, "don't."

**That night I had a vivid dream.**

Everyone groaned.

**It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf.**

Poseidon and Zeus looked at each other.

**The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.**

Percy glared at Kronos as Kronos looked anywhere but the gods and Percy.

**I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and I screamed, **_**No!**_

"HA!" Zeus yelled, "I win!"

Everyone rolled their eyes.

**I woke with a start.**

**Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.**

"Why you so mad father?" Artemis asked.

"I'm not sure," Zeus said simply.

**With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, **

**"Hurricane."**

Everyone looked at Poseidon.

**I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten. **

Poseidon groaned mentally to himself.

**Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.**

"What now?" Poseidon squeaked.

**Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice—someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.**

Grover's eyes widened.

"Must be me," he thought.

**My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.**

**Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't... he wasn't exactly Grover.**

"Huh?" everyone asked.

**"Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"**

"Yes, what were you?!" literally everyone yelled.

**My mother looked at me in terror—not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.**

**"Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"**

"Oh, Percy, you made matters worse!" Thalia yelled.

Thalia jumped Percy and slapped him senseless. Percy didn't fight back.

Nico and Annabeth had to pull her apart.

"I-I'm sorry," Percy apologized to a growling Thalia.

**I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing.**

_**"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" **_**he yelled. "It's right behind me! Didn't you **_**tell **_**her?"**

"Didn't you?" Thalia said steely calm.

**I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on—**

"Did you see his hinie?" Hermes asked, trying to break the tension. IT did.

"EWWW!" Grover and the goddess yelled while the males cracked down in laughter.

**and where his legs should be ... where his legs should be ...**

"Stop repeating yourself!" Apollo yelled only to be slapped again.

**My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: **_**"Percy. **_**Tell me **_**now**_**!"**

"Ouch, must've put you in shock," Annabeth said.

"That's what you get!" Thalia snarled.

Percy looked at her warily.

**I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.**

"Must've been a scary sight, your brain not processing everything that you saw." Hestia replied.

Percy nodded.

**She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. Both of you. **_**Go**_**!**_**"**_

"GO!" Poseidon snarled, staring everyone.

**Grover ran for the Camaro—but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked.**

"A little slow eh?" Nico asked.

"He's just an amateur!" Annabeth yelled.

"Hey!" PJ and Percy cried.

**Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves.**

"Scary….." Apollo shuddered,

"Done!" Thalia yelled.

"One more chapter and then break." Athena said.

Everyone nodded.

"Who would like to read next?" Athena asked.

Suddenly a bright light filled the room and when it dimmed, there was…

**Done! Hoped you enjoyed it! Thank you guys. BYE! Until next time.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: My mama teaches me bullfighting**

**Alright guys chapter 5. I guess I'll answer some reviews starting from chapter 4 because I am bored and I want to you guys to know that I care for every reviewer, follower, favoriter, and viewer. So here goes, and remember, there will be a shoutout and a dedication to the 20****th**** reviewer.**

**seaweed brain's wise girl- yeah, I guess that part was interesting! Thanks!**

**Guest- alright, I'll give you more, here it is!**

**Guest- Thanks! :D**

**Fudotwin17- Of course Sally will come! Maybe this chapter**

**Guest- Of course I'll finish! I won't let you down!**

**Guest- Well, we all have to deal with reports and flames, but thanks for your kind words!**

The bright light disappeared and out came the minotaur! Psyke! Out came Sally Jackson from the future(**here it is Fudotwin17 :D)**, and Chiron.

"Mom! Chiron!" Percy and PJ exclaimed.

"Uh, what's going on?" Chiron asked.

**(Several minutes later)**

"Oh Percy! Your so cute when you're a baby!" Sally exclaimed to Lil' Percy who giggled.

"Oh Percy, your just like a remember several years ago!" she said to PJ who was blushing.

She went to Percy and scanned him. She pulled him into a hug and Percy didn't resist.

Aphrodite and Hera was in tears right now.

"Can I read?" Nico asked.

"Why not death breath?" Thalia replied.

She handed him the book and he turned to the correct page.

"**My Mother Teaches Me Bullfighting," **

PJ was in tears right now and Percy clenched his teeth growling.

"What's wrong?" AC asked.

"Oh," PJ replied sniffling, "you'll see."

AC and Annabeth both looked worried.

**We tore through the night along dark country roads. Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the wind shield. I didn't know how my mom could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas.**

"You drive nice, woman!" Ares exclaimed.

"That woman, has a name!" Poseidon said in his face.

"Thank you Lord Ares and Lord Poseidon…." Sally began.

"Just call me Poseidon." Poseidon replied.

Sally smiled.

**Every time there was a flash of lightning, **

Everyone glared at Zeus and some began to growl at him. He looked nervous and waved his hands as if to say go on.

**I looked at Grover sitting next to me in the backseat and I wondered if I'd gone insane, or if he was wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants.**

"HEY!" Grover yelled indignantly.

Everyone burst into laughter.

**But, no, the smell was one I remembered from kindergarten field trips to the petting zoo— lanolin, like from wool. The smell of a wet barnyard animal.**

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose.

"That's good I guess," Aphrodite began.

"No!" Percy replied, "it was gross!"

PJ nodded.

**All I could think to say was, "So, you and my mom... know each other?"**

"Way to break the silence," Apollo snorted.

Artemis didn't do anything because Apollo hadn't said anything stupid.

**Graver's eyes flitted to the rearview mirror, though there were no cars behind us. **

Grover flinched.

"Yeah, about that," Grover stated, "there was a giant figure behind us and sorry I didn't tell you." He looked down.

Percy looked at Grover stunned and snarled.

"You didn't tell me," Percy replied, "that was why my mom…."

Percy glared his _I'm gonna kill you _glare.

"I'm sorry, Percy!" Grover bleated, "so very-"

"ENOUGH!" Percy snarled. Wind picked up the room.

"You caused her disappearance and now you say your sorry!" Percy yelled.

"I'm sorry Percy! Please forgive me!" Grover now yelled bleary eyed.

"FORGIVE!" Percy yelled, "your decision caused this mess! Now you want me to forgive you!"

PJ also got up and glared.

"That's right, goat boy, you will PAY!" PJ yelled and got out riptide.

"Percy, stop!" AC and Annabeth yelled.

Annabeth went to hold back Percy while AC went to hold back PJ.

Percy just glared and sat down, while PJ broke down. He fell to his knees and started crying.

The gods were stunned. Almost everyone rose and walked over to their respected mates. Poseidon, Annabeth, Nico, surprisingly Clarisse, Jason, Leo, and Piper went to Percy to restrain him and Thalia, Sally, Reyna, Gwen, Apollo, and Hermes went to PJ. Thalia pulled PJ into a hug.

"You can tell me what happened," Thalia replied softly.

PJ sniffled, "It'll be in the books."

Slowly PJ's followers retreated back.

"Percy," Annabeth asked, "please calm down."

"Yeah," Nico replied, "is this the part where your mom, you know…"

Percy glared at him and Nico shrunk back.

"Ohhh," Nico replied, "I guess it is."

Jason put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. Percy smiled back.

"Let's go on," Zeus replied, stunned.

**"Not exactly," he said. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you."**

Apollo eyed Percy and saw that Percy was glaring, but slowly fading.

He wisely decided to hold his tongue from saying, "Stalker".

**"Watching me?"**

"Yep," Grover half heartedly bleated.

"Look Grover, I'm sorry," Percy said, "I was just mad."

"I'm very sorry Percy," Grover replied.

Percy smiled.

"It's alright." He replied.

AC ribbed PJ hard and Pj immediately said, "I'm sorry to goat boy."

Grover smiled.

**"Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added hastily. "I **_**am **_**your friend."**

"You sure are the best friend every," Percy said.

Hestia smiled. _A true hero_

**"Urm ... what **_**are **_**you, exactly?"**

"A satyr," Grover, Dionysus, Annabeth, Percy, Thalia, Nico, AC, and PJ replied. They all burst into laughter.

**"That doesn't matter right now."**

Percy smiled.

"It doesn't?" he asked.

Grover rolled his eyes playfully.

**"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey—"**

Grover glared at Percy.

"OOPS" Percy said.

Everyone laughed.

Dionysus said, "Peter! Don't say that to other satyrs!"

"Yes, sir!" Percy replied.

**Grover let out a sharp, throaty "**_**Blaa-ha-ha**_**!"**

Like he was doing now.

**I'd heard him make that sound before, but I'd always assumed it was a nervous laugh. Now I realized it was more of an irritated bleat.**

"So," Travis asked, "when you talk, do you always bleat?"

"Noo-o-o" Grover bleated.

"Pshh," Connor said.

Everyone laughed.

**"Goat!" he cried.**

"Not a donkey okay?" Grover said to Lil' Percy.

"Ok!" lil Percy said all bubbly.

"Awwww," all the females cooed.

**"What?"**

"Goat!" Grover replied.

**"I'm a **_**goat **_**from the waist down."**

"Umm, you just said it doesn't matter!" Apollo said.

"Idiot," Artemis replied.

**"You just said it didn't matter."**

Nico surveyed Apollo.

"Hmmm," he said.

"Why are you checking me out?" Apollo asked.

"Trying to see if you have a disease," Nico replied.

"I'm the god of medicine! Why would I have a disease!" Apollo replied.

"You have a disease," Nico said sternly.

"What is it?" Apollo said panicked.

"It's called REPEATINGWHATPERCYSAYSSYNDRO ME, or RWPSS!" Nico replied.

Everyone burst into laughter.

Thalia high fived Nico.

"Good one!" Thalia replied.

Athena fell out of her throne laughing, because she still hates Percy.

"Oh yeah? At least I don't have Restless Heart syndrome!" Percy replied, silencing the crowd.

"The what?" Nico asked.

"Sea spawn, there is no such thing as a Restless Heart syndrome!" Athena replied.

Percy looked at Thalia and they smiled. **(Restless Heart syndrome by Greenday! WOOTWOOT!)**

**"**_**Blaa-ha-ha**_**!** **There are satyrs who would trample you under hoof for such an insult!"**

"Coach Hedge maybe?" Jason asked.

Percy shrugged.

"Dude, we should try that sometime!" Travis told Connor.

"I'm in!" Connor replied.

"Count me in!" Chris said.

"Us too!" Nico and Percy volunteered.

**"Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like ... Mr. Brunner's myths?"**

"Myths?" Grover asked.

**"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a **_**myth, **_**Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"**

"Good point," Percy replied. Annabeth just rolled her eyes.

**"So you **_**admit **_**there was a Mrs. Dodds!"**

Now everyone rolled their eyes.

"Idiot," murmured Dionysus only to be silenced by Poseidon.

**"Of course."**

**"Then why—"**

**"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said, like that should be perfectly obvious. **

"Take it easy on him, will you Grover?" Annabeth asked.

"Sure thing," was Grover's answer.

**"We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are."**

"I don't think so," Athena said, "I mean, he knew all the weird things that were happening, but not even close to learn that he is a demigod."

**"Who I—wait a minute, what do you mean?"**

"Is that all you say?" Thalia asked.

"What? What do you mean? Ummmm." Nico badly mimicked Percy.

Percy just glared at him.

**The weird bellowing noise rose up again somewhere behind us, closer than before. Whatever was chasing us was still on our trail.**

Percy gripped his sword.

"Who was the monster?" Piper asked.

Percy looked at Piper sadly.

**"Percy," my mom said, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety."**

"DAMN STRAIGHT!" Poseidon yelled, shocking everyone.

"Will you shut up Seaweed brain?!" Athena yelled back.

**"Safety from what? Who's after me?"**

"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions!"

Poseidon gripped his throne and glared at Hades.

"Not a single hair on his head, ok?" Poseidon said, his voice calm.

Hades gulped and nodded.

**"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions."**

"Woah Grover," Thalia replied, "don't repeat yourself!"

**"Grover!"**

"That proves the point that one of your abomination is after my son!" Poseidon yelled.

"That hasn't happened yet!" Hades replied.

Poseidon faced Hades.

"If you sent either a telkhine or one of those weak units, you'll get a punch. If you sent a hellhound, you'll get 2 punches. If you send a drakon, your dead. If you send the worst monsters, such as the Minotaur, the hydra, or any of these monsters, I'll rip your head off!" Poseidon yelled.

Hades gulped. There was a bright flash and out popped a person.

There was a man who looked familiar to Poseidon.

"Hi, I'm Theseus, son of Posedion." Theseus said.

Everyone gasped.

"Who are these demigods?" Theseus asked. Another light and out popped more people.

"Hi, I am Odysseus and these are my friends Orion, Bellerphron, Jason, and Perseus.

**(Heracles will come at book 3, when they meet Zoe and Perseus will be Zeus' son, while Percy will be Poseidon's son, also Jason G. will be Grace and Jason will be the real Jason.)**

Now everyone gasped.

"Silence!" Zeus exclaimed.

"Demigods introduce yourselves!" Zeus thundered.

**(I'll be only introducing the son of Poseidon and Zeus.)**

"I'm Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, and hunter of Artemis."

Perseus smiled.

"So, your our little sister?" Perseus asked.

"Yes," Thalia said blushing.

"I'm Jason Grace, son of Jupiter." Jason G. said.

Perseus smiled.

"Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon," Percy said.

Orion and Theseus smiled.

"Now, why are we here?" Bellerphon asked.

**(After the introduction.)**

**"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"**

"Yes, Sally, drive faster," Poseidon muttered.

**I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening, but I couldn't do it. I knew this wasn't a dream. I had no imagination. I could never dream up something this weird.**

"I take that back," Percy winced.

"Why?" Poseidon asked.

"The dreams get horrible." Percy said glaring at Kronos.

**My mom made a hard left. We swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences.**

"I love the strawberries!" Katie said.

Demeter smiled.

**"Where are we going?" I asked.**

"Camp Half Blood!" the Greeks cheered.

The romans just rolled their eyes.

**"The summer camp I told you about." My mother's voice was tight; she was trying for my sake not to be scared. "The place your father wanted to send you."**

Poseidon looked at Sally sadly.

**"The place you didn't want me to go."**

"Don't push it," Hera warned.

**"Please, dear," my mother begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."**

"In a lot of danger," Kronos said.

Everyone looked at him.

"What?" he asked.

**"Because some old ladies cut yarn."**

"When you put it that way, that sounds plain stupid!" Artemis said.

"Your stupid!" Artemis replied.

"You tell him, girl!" Orion replied.

Artemis and Apollo glared at him.

**"Those weren't old ladies," Grover said. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means—the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to ... when someone's about to die."**

"Why'd you say you?" Annabeth mentally groaned.

"Sorry," Grover replied.

**"Whoa. You said 'you.'"**

"Yes, he did," Nico said.

**"No I didn't. I said 'someone.'"**

"You said you, then someone," Thalia replied.

**"You meant 'you.' As in **_**me.**_**"**

"Percy's right," AC said.

**"I meant **_**you, **_**like 'someone.' Not you, **_**you.**_**"**

"Is it possible for someone else to be a you?" Athena asked.

**"Boys!" my mom said.**

"Thank the gods!" Artemis said. "Men are annoying!"

"HEY!" the men yelled indignantly.

**She pulled the wheel hard to the right, and I got a glimpse of a figure she'd swerved to avoid—a dark fluttering shape now lost behind us in the storm.**

"Thank you," Poseidon sighed.

"Not yet," Percy replied.

Poseidon hyperventilated.

**"What was that?" I asked.**

"Pasi-" Percy began to say, but was cut off by Annabeth's hand to his mouth.

**"We're almost there," my mother said, ignoring my question.**

"For your own good," Grover replied.

**"Another mile. Please. Please. Please."**

Poseidon and Annabeth chanted please.

**I didn't know where **_**there **_**was, but I found myself leaning forward in the car, anticipating, wanting us to arrive.**

"Camp Half Blood does that to everyone," Grover replied.

Everyone nodded.

**Outside, nothing but rain and darkness—the kind of empty countryside you get way out on the tip of Long Island. I thought about Mrs. Dodds and the moment when she'd changed into the thing with pointed teeth and leathery wings. **

"That was absolutely freaky," Percy said.

PJ nodded in agreement.

**My limbs went numb from delayed shock. She really **_**hadn't **_**been human. She'd meant to kill me.**

"No shit, seaweed brain. She meant to add you on facebook!" Thalia said.

Everyone started giggling.

**Then I thought about Mr. Brunner ... and the sword he had thrown me. **

Percy looked at Chiron with gratitude.

Chiron just smiled.

**Before I could ask Grover about that, the hair rose on the back of my neck. There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling **_**boom!, **_**and our car exploded.**

"What happened?!" Poseidon asked worriedly as Thalia went to PJ and started hugging him fiercly.

"Can't breathe!" PJ managed to say.

AJ looked at Thalia with jealously and remembered that she was a hunter. Her look faded.

"I'm worried Kelp Head!" Thalia replied.

Percy Jackson replied, "I thought you hated me."

"I do," she replied, "PJ is adorable, not you."

Percy rolled his eyes.

**I remember feeling weightless, like I was being crushed, fried, and hosed down all at the same time.**

"I feel the same!" PJ said while being bear hugged by Thalia.

**I peeled my forehead off the back of the driver's seat and said, "Ow."**

"Is that all you say?" Annabeth snorted.

**"Percy!" my mom shouted.**

"A good mother," Hera said.

Sally smiled.

**"I'm okay..."**

"No you weren't Percy," replied Grover the goat.

**I tried to shake off the daze. I wasn't dead. **

"No shit," Nico replied.

**The car hadn't really exploded. We'd swerved into a ditch. Our driver's-side doors were wedged in the mud. The roof had cracked open like an eggshell and rain was pouring in.**

Nico looked at the book and gulped. He looked at Zeus and Poseidon worriedly.

"Why aren't you reading?" Thalia said as she scooted next to him.

"Ohhhh," Thalia said.

"Why?" Zeus asked.

"Ummm," Thalia replied.

"It's ok," Poseidon said, "Nico read."

"O-ok" he said.  
**Lightning. **

"WHAT?!" Poseidon shrieked.

Everyone death glared Zeus and he was really freaking out.

Poseidon got out his trident.

"DAD!" Orion and Theseus yelled at the same time.

"Calm down!" Theseus said.

**That was the only explanation. We'd been blasted right off the road. Next to me in the backseat was a big motionless lump. "Grover!"**

"Not you too!" Annabeth said.

"I'm fine Annabeth," Grover said.

**He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. **

Annabeth was in tears.

Grover hugged her to reassure her.

Percy didn't even look slightly jealous.

**I shook his furry hip, thinking, No! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're my best friend and I don't want you to die!**

Despite the tension, some smiled.

**Then he groaned "Food," and I knew there was hope.**

"FOOD?" Jason asked incredulously, "is that all you can think of?"

Grover blushed.

**"Percy," my mother said, "we have to ..." Her voice faltered.**

"Uh oh," Poseidon ventilated.

**I looked back. In a flash of lightning, through the mud-spattered rear windshield, I saw a figure lumbering toward us on the shoulder of the road. **

"Gods, no, no, no, no," Poseidon chanted.

**The sight of it made my skin crawl. **

"Oh Jesus," AC said, rubbing her temples.

**It was a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player. **

The room was silent.

**He seemed to be holding a blanket over his head. His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His upraised hands made it look like he had horns.**

Athena flinched. "The minotaur?" she asked.

Everyone looked at Percy. He nodded.

Poseidon yelled and jumped Hades.

He started slugging him. It took Hermes, Ares, Apollo, and Zeus to pull him back.

**I swallowed hard. "Who is—"**

"Get out of the car!" Poseidon yelled.

**"Percy," my mother said, deadly serious. "Get out of the car."**

No one decided to comment.

**My mother threw herself against the driver's-side door. It was jammed shut in the mud. **

"Oh no," Connor groaned.

**I tried mine. Stuck too. **

"Oh no," Travis said also.

**I looked up desperately at the hole in the roof. It might've been an exit, but the edges were sizzling and smoking.**

Athena shook her head.

"Too risky." She said.

**"Climb out the passenger's side!" my mother told me. "Percy—you have to run. Do you see that big tree?"**

Thalia's eyes widened.

"ME?" she asked.

_**"What?"**_

"Me, kelp head," Thalia replied, causing Percy to blush.

**Another flash of lightning, and through the smoking hole in the roof I saw the tree she meant: a huge, White House Christmas tree-sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill.**

"ZEUS!" Hera yelled, "enough with the thunder!"

"Yes, wife," he replied.

**"That's the property line," my mom said. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. **

"Mission failed." Thalia said.

**Yell for help. **

"Mission failed yet again," she said again.

**Don't stop until you reach the door."**

"Another mission failed," she said.

**"Mom, you're coming too."**

"I'm sorry, hero," Hestia said gently.

**Her face was pale, her eyes as sad as when she looked at the ocean.**

Aphrodite started tearing up.

**"No!" I shouted. "You **_**are **_**coming with me. Help me carry Grover."**

"What a faithful young boy," Hera replied.

**"Food!" Grover moaned, a little louder.**

"Not the time Grover," Leo growled.

That shocked everyone.

**The man with the blanket on his head kept coming toward us, making his grunting, snorting noises. **

Percy buried his hands in his head.

**As he got closer, I realized he **_**couldn't **_**be holding a blanket over his head, because his hands—huge meaty hands—were swinging at his sides. There was no blanket. **

"No," Athena said worriedly.

**Meaning the bulky, fuzzy mass that was too big to be his head ... was his head. And the points that looked like horns…**

"Those are horns, seaweed brain," Annabeth yelled.

**"He doesn't want **_**us**_**," my mother told me. "He wants **_**you. **_**Besides, I can't cross the property line."**

"That rule is just messed up," Percy said.

PJ nodded.

"Do you want mortals coming into camp? I mean, bad mortals?" Chiron asked.

"Good point."

**"But..."**

**"We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please."**

"I'm sorry, Sally, he won't listen." Annabeth said worriedly.

Sally just sadly smiled.

**I got mad, then—mad at my mother,**

"Idiotic boy," Hera replied.

Percy stood silent.

**at Grover the goat,**

Apollo snorted.

**at the thing with horns that was lumbering toward us slowly and deliberately like, like a bull.**

"The minotaur," PJ said as the room grew darker.

**I climbed across Grover and pushed the door open into the rain. "We're going together. Come on, Mom."**

"Such a loyal son," Hera cooed.

"HYPOCRITE!" Hephaestus yelled.

"Shut it before I throw you off Olympus again," Hera replied.

"QUIET!" Zeus yelled, "READ!"

**"I told you—"**

**"Mom! I am not leaving you. Help me with Grover."**

Everyone groaned.

**I didn't wait for her answer. I scrambled outside, dragging Grover from the car. He was surprisingly light, but I couldn't have carried him very far if my mom hadn't come to my aid.**

"You calling me fat?" Grover yelled.

"No, I wasn't," Percy replied.

**Together, we draped Grover's arms over our shoulders and started stumbling uphill through wet waist-high grass.**

"Dionysus, cut the grass ok?" Zeus asked.

"Sure thing," he replied.

**Glancing back, I got my first clear look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of **_**Muscle Man **_**magazine—bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin. **

"Dang, must've been really buff," Perseus replied.

"He is," Theseus replied.

**He wore no clothes except under wear—** **I mean, bright white Fruit of the Looms—which would've looked funny, except that the top half of his body was so scary.**

Everyone fell into laughter.

"Fruit of the Looms," Nico snorted while laughing.

**Coarse brown hair started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders.** **His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns—enormous black-and-white horns with points you just couldn't get from an electric sharpener.**

"EWWW!" Aphrodite stuttered.

"He needs a makeover!" Piper replied as Aphrodite nodded.

**I recognized the monster, all right. He had been in one of the first stories Mr. Brunner told us. But he couldn't be real.**

"Well, what is in front of you then?" Thalia asked.

**I blinked the rain out of my eyes. "That's—"**

**"Pasiphae's son," my mother said.**

Athena looked impressed.

"Smart women you married Poseidon. Sally blushed.

**"I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you."**

**"But he's the Min—"**

**"Don't say his name," she warned. "Names have power."**

Athena looked really impressed.

"Smart," she replied.

**The pine tree was still way too far—a hundred yards uphill at least.**

Travis whistled. "That is a lot," he replied.

**I glanced behind me again.**

**The bull-man hunched over our car, looking in the windows—or not looking, exactly. More like snuffling, nuzzling. I wasn't sure why he bothered, since we were only about fifty feet away.**

"His nose his better than his sight and hearing," Sally replied.

Athena looked stunned.

**"Food?" Grover moaned.**

Everyone groaned.

**"Shhh," I told him. "Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?"**

"Lol Percy," Thalia said, "your like a mommy quieting a baby."

Everyone snickered.

**"His sight and hearing are terrible," she said. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough."**

Athena nodded.

**As if on cue, the bull-man bellowed in rage. He picked up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning. **

"NICCEE" Travis exclaimed.

**He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded.**

Everyone cheered.

"Take that Smelly Gabe!" Sally exclaimed, causing everyone to laugh harder.

_**Not a scratch, **_

**I remembered Gabe saying.**

**Oops.**

The laughter did not stop, instead it increased more.

**"Percy," my mom said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way— directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"**

"She must be the smartest mortal of all," Athena replied.

"I bless you," Athena said, "you will be wisest among the mortals."

"ME too," Hera said, "your family will thrive and nothing will stop them."

"I do too," Aphrodite said.

Immediately a light flashed Sally and it was gone. She looked younger with no wrinkles and pure skin. Her hair was tied into a bun and she was wearing a T shirt and blue jeans.

Poseidon walked up to her.

"Your beautiful," he said.

Sally smiled and they stared into each others eyes. Aphrodite was literally crying her face off.

"Um," Zeus said, nervous, "if you don't mind, can we continue?"

"Yes Lord Zeus," Sally replied.

**"How do you know all this?"**

**"I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me."**

"Your not selfish!" everyone exclaimed.

Sally smiled.

"Thanks," she replied.

**"Keeping me near you? But—"**

**Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping uphill.**

Poseidon grabbed Sally and pulled her into a hug.

**He'd smelled us.**

"Oh boy," Thalia groaned.

**The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and Grover wasn't getting any lighter.**

"Sorry, dude," Percy said to a huffing Grover.

"It's ok," Grover replied.

**The bull-man closed in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of us.**

"I'll protect you," Poseidon whispered.

**My mother must've been exhausted, but she shouldered Grover. "Go, Percy! Separate! Remember what I said."**

"I did," Percy said smiling.

**I didn't want to split up, but I had the feeling she was right—it was our only chance. **

"If you had failed that," Poseidon said, as he started shaking.

**I sprinted to the left, turned, and saw the creature bearing down on me. His black eyes glowed with hate. He reeked like rotten meat.**

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose.

"BLECHHH!" Piper threw up.

**He lowered his head and charged, those razor-sharp horns aimed straight at my chest.**

Poseidon held his breath as Thalia started squeezing PJ.

**The fear in my stomach made me want to bolt, but that wouldn't work. I could never outrun this thing.**

"No one has every outran the Minotaur," Theseus said worriedly.

**So I held my ground, and at the last moment, I jumped to the side.**

Poseidon sighed, but tensed again.

**The bull-man stormed past like a freight train, then bellowed with frustration and turned, but not toward me this time, toward my mother, who was setting Grover down in the grass.**

"No, NO!" Poseidon screamed.

**We'd reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side I could see a valley, just as my mother had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain. But that was half a mile away. We'd never make it.**

"Please, Percy," Annabeth said with tears, "stop being pessimistic!"

Percy wiped the tears from Annabeth's eyes as he said, "It's ok."

**The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eyeing my mother, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover.**

"Thank you very much Sally," Grover said.

Sally smiled.

"Now, I couldn't just let you die, could I?" Sally asked.

**"Run, Percy!" she told me. "I can't go any farther. Run!"**

Poseidon started hyperventilating.

**But I just stood there, frozen in fear, as the monster charged her. **

Hades gulped, afraid of what Poseidon might do.

**She tried to sidestep, as she'd told me to do, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. **

"No, no, no, no," Poseidon said.

**He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air.**

Poseidon looked murderously at Hades while he grabbed Sally tightly.

**"Mom!"**

**She caught my eyes, managed to choke out one last word: "Go!"**

"She doesn't make it?" Aphrodite said with tears in her eyes.

No one answered.

**Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around my mother's neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply ... gone.**

"NO!" Poseidon yelled as tears came out freely. He lunged at Hades and started impaling him with his trident.

"Poseidon, calm down!" Zeus yelled.

It took almost all of the council to pull them apart.

Every female started crying silently.

**"No!"**

**Anger replaced my fear. Newfound strength burned in my limbs—the same rush of energy I'd gotten when Mrs. Dodds grew talons.**

"Get him, Percy." Nico whispered.

**The bull-man bore down on Grover, who lay helpless in the grass. The monster hunched over, snuffling my best friend, as if he were about to lift Grover up and make him dissolve too.**

"Thanks Percy for saving me," Grover said.

"No prob," Percy replied.

**I couldn't allow that.**

"You can't allow any of your friends to get hurt," Annabeth said with a sad smile.

**I stripped off my red rain jacket.**

**"Hey!" I screamed, waving the jacket, running to one side of the monster. "Hey, stupid! Ground beef!"**

"You need to think of better insults!" Apollo said to Percy.

Artemis hit her brother, her eyes red, as if she had been crying.

**"Raaaarrrrr!" The monster turned toward me, shaking his meaty fists.**

**I had an idea—a stupid idea, but better than no idea at all.**

Everyone smiled, knowing how Percy would destroy the minotaur.

**I put my back to the big pine tree and waved my red jacket in front of the bull-man, thinking I'd jump out of the way at the last moment.**

"That won't work, Percy," Athena said.

Percy just nodded glumly.

**But it didn't happen like that.**

Thalia gave a weak smile. "When does it?" she asked.

**The bull-man charged too fast, his arms out to grab me whichever way I tried to dodge.**

"Tried to?" Poseidon asked.

"Oh no," said Percy.

**Time slowed down.**

Everyone smiled and some evilly grinned.

**My legs tensed. I couldn't jump sideways, so I leaped straight up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on his neck.**

Everyone was stunned.

**How did I do that?**

"That's what I want to know," Ares muttered.

**I didn't have time to figure it out. A millisecond later, the monster's head slammed into the tree and the impact nearly knocked my teeth out.**

Percy winced as Thalia started to squeeze PJ harder.

**The bull-man staggered around, trying to shake me. I locked my arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. **

Now everyone growled as Zeus started feeling faint.

**The rain was in my eyes. The smell of rotten meat burned my nostrils.**

Aphrodite wrinkled her nose as Piper barfed again.

**The monster shook himself around and bucked like a rodeo bull. He should have just backed up into the tree and smashed me flat, but I was starting to realize that this thing had only one gear: forward.**

"Thank the gods, you realized that," Annabeth said.

Percy just said nothing.

**Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass. I wanted to yell at him to shut up,**

"Sorry," Percy muttered.

"No, I'm sorry, for not helping you," Grover replied.

**but the way I was getting tossed around, if I opened my mouth I'd bite my own tongue off.**

"Ouch," Travis said.

**"Food!" Grover moaned.**

Everyone groaned again.

**The bull-man wheeled toward him, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. I thought about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light,** **and rage filled me like high-octane fuel. **

"Rage mode Percy time!" Nico replied.

**I got both hands around one horn and I pulled backward with all my might. The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then—**_**snap!**_

"Wow," said Theseus.

"I can't believe you actually managed to do that!" Jason said as he high fived Percy.

Ares said," Not bad punk."

**The bull-man screamed and flung me through the air. I landed flat on my back in the grass. My head smacked against a rock. **

Now everyone winced as Percy and PJ rubbed their heads.

**When I sat up, my vision was blurry, but I had a horn in my hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife.**

"Use that as a weapon!" Athena yelled.

**The monster charged.**

**Without thinking, I rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the monster barreled past, I drove the broken horn straight into his side, right up under his furry rib cage.**

"That's for my mom!" exclaimed Percy as everyone cheered. Fireworks flew in the air as everyone started celebrating.

**The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate—not like my mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart.**

People clapped Percy and PJ on the back as they smiled.

**The monster was gone.**

The ovation did not stop.

**The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. **

"I understand," said Clarisse, shocking everyone.

**My head felt like it was splitting open. **

Everyone winced again.

**I was weak and scared and trembling with grief. **

"Understandable punk," Ares replied.

Aphrodite snuggled closer to him and Ares grinned.

"Not bad at all," he replied.

**I'd just seen my mother vanish. I wanted to lie down and cry, but there was Grover, needing my help, so I managed to haul him up and stagger down into the valley, toward the lights of the farm house. **

"True heart of gold," Hestia replied.

"Thank you, lady Hestia," Percy replied.

**I was crying, calling for my mother, but I held on to Grover—I wasn't going to let him go.**

"Yes, you are very loyal," Athena replied, "perhaps I misjudged you, we'll see at the end of these books,"

**The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light, and the stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man and a pretty girl, her blond hair curled like a princess's.**

"My daughter?" Aphrodite asked.

**They both looked down at me, and the girl said, "He's the one. He must be."**

"Yes, he's the one," Nico said.

**"Silence, Annabeth," the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."**

"Oh never mind," Aphrodite said.

"All right, finished," Nico said.

"Let's take a break!" Athena replied as she closed the book.

**Done! Thanks for your support! Hope you enjoyed! Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, this is chapter 6. I'll try to get Chapter 7 up this weekend. Hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 6- Break!**

"Demigods," Zeus boomed, "Oh and you too Kronos." Snickers were heard.

We all turned our attention to him.

"We are flashing out to take care of our own business, so you guys can check out Olympus." Zeus said.

We all nodded. The gods all flashed out when Poseidon stopped Thalia.

"Yes, Lord Poseidon?" Thalia asked.

"Can you please take care of Pj?" he asked.

"Yes, sir, but why me, not to be rude or anything," Thalia replied.

He smiled. "I saw you hugging him and treating him like a little brother," he said.

Thalia blushed then nodded. "I'll do my best."

Poseidon flashed out in a scent of saltwater.

PJ was in the corner of Olympus sniffling while everyone was playing around. Thalia went next to PJ and pulled him into a tight hug.

"It's ok," she purred.

Meanwhile Percy was staring at Thalia and PJ.

"Wow, I never knew she had that side in her," he mumbled.

Percy left them alone and went to explore Olympus.

Olympus was magnificent. Olympus had their own basketball court, spa, game room, you name it.

Percy decided to go for a swim. He went to the boy's locker room to change into his swimsuit. Percy jumped in the water.

"Shit!" Percy hissed. It was very cold.

Normally he would've made himself not get wet, but what would be the fun in that? He did 500 laps of breaststroke in under 2 minutes, using the water to propel himself.

"Wow," Annabeth replied, scaring Percy.

"Annabeth, where'd you come from?" he asked.

"Oh, was just admiring your swimming skills," she purred, as her hand raced down Percy's arms.

Percy blushed. She was also in her swim suit and man she looked hot. He was starting to get an erection. Percy blushed much harder. Annabeth didn't notice at all.

"Hey, can you teach me how to swim?" Annabeth asked.

"Uh, can't you swim?" Percy asked.

"I want to get better," Annabeth replied.

Percy nodded, still blushing.

"So, I'll teach you breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle, and backstroke, k?" Percy asked.

"Yes," Annabeth replied blushing.

"So, the whole point of butterfly is to you use your arms for power and your legs to kick the water forward…

**Time skip**

Percy taught Annabeth how to master all the techniques of swimming. Percy watched as Annabeth gracefully did a freestyle. She had asked Percy to time her. Percy watched carefully as Annabeth did a 200 freestyle, and she did it under 3 minutes.

"Wow, Annabeth, you did great," Percy complimented.

"Thanks," she replied.

They leaned in closer for a kiss. Their lips met and they held that kiss for 2 minutes. They broke away panting.

"Thank you for teaching me these things," Annabeth asked.

"No problem," Percy replied.

"Why don't we call all the demigods in here to play a game of water polo?" Annabeth asked.

"No prob," Percy replied.

Percy gave his best wolf whistle and the whistle echoed throughout the throne room. Almost all the demigods rushed in.

"What is it Perce?" Reyna asked.

"I was thinking," Percy said, "why don't we all play a game of water polo?"

"Sure!" Hazel bounced up and down.

Kronos gazed at the son of Poseidon.

"I'll be the score tracker then," he sighed, as he plopped down on the lifeguard seat.

"Everyone get changed," Annabeth ordered as they rushed to their locker rooms. It took about five minutes for them to gather.

"Ok," Percy replied, "who wants to be team captain?"

"How about you and Annabeth?" Nico asked.

"Nahh," Annabeth replied.

"What about PJ and Percy?" AC asked.

PJ and Percy looked at each other.

"Sure!" Percy replied.

"Ok, rock paper scissors, to see who chooses first," Ac ordered.

"Rock, paper scissors!" they yelled out.

Percy had a scissor as PJ had a paper.

"Ok," Percy repelied, "I choose Annabeth."

Annabeth went to Percy's side.

"Then I choose, AC," PJ replied, as Ac came over.

"Hmmmm, I'll get Orion," Percy said as Orion smiled.

"I'll get Theseus," PJ said as he fist bumped Theseus.

"Umm, Nico?" asked Percy.

"Sure!" Nico exclaimed.

"I'll get Thalia," PJ replied as she smiled.

"Jason, get your butt over here," Percy said.

Jason nodded and smiled, "Gladly."

"Umm, Piper?" PJ asked as Piper smiled.

Jason narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. Piper sent him an apologetic look.

"Hazel, join me and your brother," Percy replied.

"Frank, get over here," PJ said.

"Reyna," Percy said.

"Leo," PJ replied.

"Katie," Percy said.

"Travis," PJ said.

"Connor," Percy replied.

"Clarisse," PJ replied.

"Gwen," Percy replied.

"Finally, Will," PJ replied.

After the teams had been assigned, both of their teams went one way to the other side of the pool. Kronos held the ball in his hand.

"Ready, go!" Kronos shouted as he threw the ball at the middle of the pool. Percy and PJ propelled themselves forward, but Percy being more experienced and older got it first.

"Let's go team!" Percy shouted.

Percy's team cheered as they all rushed forward. Percy threw it to Orion who caught it.

"I'm sorry Orion," Theseus said, "I can't let you score the ball."

Orion then passed it to Nico who was undefended.

"Shit!" Clarisse cursed as she raced towards Nico. Nico, afraid of Clarisse slamming into him in about 5 seconds, passed it to Percy who caught. He threw the ball towards the goal, only for it to be intercepted by Annabeth.

"I won't make it easy for you seaweed brain," AC smirked.

Percy mentally groaned. AC threw it across the pool to PJ, who had snuck to the other side.

"Shit!" Percy cursed. He used the strength of the water to propel himself forward, but it was too late. PJ threw the ball at the undefended goal and team PJ bursted into cheers.

"Alright, one- zero," Kronos replied.

"Damn it!" Percy cursed to himself.

Percy got the ball from Annabeth and filled with rage, propelled himself to the other goal. Any person who tried to get in his way, was automatically pushed away. Percy crashed into the goal.

"No fair!" Thalia exclaimed, "no using fishy powers!"

The game went on for quite a while and Percy's team won, 500-1. Yes, you heard it right. Using the power of water, Percy made every goal while the other side grumbled about not being fair.

"All right everyone," Percy said, smiling, "let's dress up and read the other chapters."

Everyone nodded.

"Oh and Percy?" Will said, "we play basketball next break."

"Agreed," Percy repelied.

The group all went to the throne room, laughing and joking around.

"Ok, so did you have a good time?" Zeus asked.

"Yes!" everyone chorused.

"Anyways, let's get back to the book." Zeus replied.

"Ok, I'll read," Jason said, as he got the book.

**Ok, guys this chapter is up.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, here is Chapter 7, I Play Pinochle with a Horse. Hope you enjoy.**

**"I Play Pinochle With a Horse,"** Jason read.

Annabeth snorted. "Percy I highly doubt Chiron would like to be called that," she said.

To prove her point, she pointed at Chiron. He was glaring at Percy.

"Um, hahaha sorry?" Percy asked.

Chiron just kept on glaring at him. Percy gulped. His glare only got harder. That made Percy shake wildly at his place. After a minute, Chiron burst into laughter.

"Ohmigod! You should've seen your reaction!" he said laughing.

The whole council joined in.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny guys," Percy said.

The laughing didn't stop.

"I'll help," Kronos said. He stomped his foot and everyone froze.

"Thanks, buddy," Percy replied.

"No problem," Kronos replied.

After a while, it was getting a bit awkward.

"Umm, can you change them back? It's getting kind of awkward," Percy said.

"Fine," Kronos huffed. He stomped his feet and everything turned to normal. After everyone regained their composture, Jason continued.

**I had weird dreams full of barnyard animals. Most of them wanted to kill me. The rest wanted food.**

"What the," Nico said, "that is a very weird dream.

Thalia nodded furiously. "I agree with death breath here," she replied, "I mean, why did they want to kill you? It just doesn't make any sense."

"Thank you for stating the obvious, Pinecone face," Percy replied.

Thalia breathed in and out, trying to control her temper.

"Woah man, watch the temper!" Percy replied.

She calmed down. "Sorry, we got it from this guy," she said, pointing to Kronos.

"Watch it," he threatened, but realized it was true.

"You know it's true father," Hera replied.

Kronos just glared at Hera.

**I must've woken up several times, but what I heard and saw made no sense, so I just passed out again. **

"Passed out as in fainting, or passed out as in falling asleep again?" Connor asked.

"What do you think you dolt?" Kate asked.

"Umm, I don't know?" he replied.

Katie rolled her eyes.

**I remember lying in a soft bed, being spoon-fed something that tasted like buttered popcorn, only it was pudding. **

"Ambrosia," Apollo said drooling.

"Woah man watch the spit!" Hermes replied.

Apollo didn't here as some of it came down to the floor.

"EWWW!" everyone repelied.

Artemis wacked Apollo.

**The girl with curly blond hair hovered over me, smirking as she scraped drips off my chin with the spoon.**

"Your being spoonfed like a wittle baby," Aphrodite cooed.

"Weirdo," Percy muttered.

"What'd you just call me?!" she shrieked.

"A weirdo?" Percy said/asked.

"You know what?" Aphrodite asked.

"What?" Percy replied.

Aphrodite grinned evilly. "How would you like to fall in love with a bull, or maybe even a monster?"

"No please!" Percy begged.

"That's what weirdo's do, don't they?" Aphrodite asked.

"Your not a weirdo!" Percy replied back frantically.

Everyone cracked up.

**When she saw my eyes open, she asked, "What will happen at the summer solstice?"**

"You actually thought he knew something?" Thalia asked.

"Yeah!" Nico replied, "old kelp for brains doesn't know anything!"

"Watch it you two," Percy warned.

"Or what?" Nico replied back smugly.

"Or this…"Percy said.

Like the speed of light he tackled Nico to the ground and started beating him senseless.

"Ouch! Ow! Not the ribs! Not the ribs! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Nico laughed as he was being tickled.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" Nico gasped.

"Sorry bro, can't help you," said Hazel trying to hold back her laugh.

"Sorry son, if you die, you can join me and I won't be lonely," Hades smirked.

"Sorry death breath, but it isn't that often I see you get hurt," Thalia replied.

"I'm sorry Percy, hahahahahahahaha!" Nico gasped.

"No," Percy replied, tickling him even harder.

"Okokokokokok STOPSTOPSTOPSTOP!"Nico gasped harder.

"Percy," Hades replied, "his life force is slowly fading away."

Percy finally stopped. He got off of Nico. Nico glared at him and clapped his hands. Immediately, 4 skeletons came out of the ground and started dragging Percy away to another room.

"Wait what? HELP!" Percy managed to say.

"Will he be ok?" Poseidon and Annabeth asked.

"Bruised and hurt, but won't die," Nico replied.

"As long as he doesn't die," Poseidon said.

Nico nodded happily.

**I managed to croak, "What?"**

"Typical Percy answer," Thalia replied.

Everyone nodded.

"Really?" Kronos asked.

Everyone stared at him.

"What? All he says to me is trash talk!" he replied.

"Oh, yeah because your our enemy!" Rachel replied.

**She looked around, as if afraid someone would overhear. "What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"**

"Stolen?" Zeus said and widened his eyes in realization.

"_The LIGHTNING THIEF"_ he thought.

"My master bolt!" Zeus yelled.

Those who haven't figured it out gasped.

Zeus got out his master bolt and aimed at PJ. Ac stood in front of him and held out her hand.

"I won't let you hurt him," she hissed.

"Guess I was wrong," Artemis said, "men and their idiotic craving for power."

"Get out of the way, daughter of Athena," Zeus grumbled.

"And if I don't?" she asked.

"Annabeth," Athena pleaded, "see sense! It is only right for Zeus to destroy the thief."

"But he isn't the thief mother, he isn't!" AC exclaimed.

"Do you have any proof or statistics showing it?" Athena asked.

"Yes, I have proof! It'll be in the books! He is not the thief!" AC yelled.

"Dad!" Thalia exclaimed. All eyes turned to her.

"He isn't the thief," she continued, "if you kill him, I won't be able to return! He was the one who rescued me!"

Zeus lowered his bolt and glowered at PJ.

**"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I don't…"**

**Somebody knocked on the door, and the girl quickly filled my mouth with pudding.**

"And that's how you shut Percy up," Nico said.

"True that buddy, true that," Thalia replied snickering.

_Clatter, Clatter, Clatter._ Everyone turned to the noise and saw Percy coming back with the skeletons dragging him by his collar. His lip was cut, he had a black eye, and he had bruises.

Nico smirked. "Want some nectar?" he asked.

"Give it to me you idiotic demon pig," Percy glowered back.

Nico smiled, "You shouldn't have said that."

"Why?" Percy asked.

"You insulted me and that is absolutely unforgivable," Nico replied.

He clapped his hands and the skeletons reformed.

"Take him away!" he ordered.

The skeletons grabbed Percy by his shoes.

"No! Wait! Sorry! WAIIIIT!" he yelped as he was dragged away once again. Everyone burst into laughter.

**The next time I woke up, the girl was gone.**

"He misses you already!" Piper cooed, to a blushing Annabeth.

"EEEEEEEEEKKKKK!" Aphrodite squeaked.

"Shut it!" Artemis scolded.

**A husky blond dude, like a surfer, stood in the corner of the bedroom keeping watch over me. He had blue eyes- at least a dozen of them-on his cheeks, his forehead, the backs of his hands.**

"Argus," Hera smiled remembering her old friend. Hera then glared at Hermes.

"Why'd you kill him, Hermes?" she asked.

"Ask Zeus!" Hermes yelled exasperated.

"You were guarding Io with Argus!" Zeus boomed.

Hera's face turned purple.

"I will not allow you to have any more lovers!" Hera replied back.

Zeus just facepalmed. "Read," he replied.

**When I finally came around for good, there was nothing weird about my surroundings, except that they were nicer than I was used to.**

"Mhmmm," Thalia replied.

**I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries. **

Katie smiled. "MMMM, strawberries," she said.

Travis smiled.

**There was a blanket over my legs, a pillow behind my neck. All that was great, but my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest. My tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt.**

"Ow, that gots to hurt," Apollo replied.

"No, its supposed to feel good," Artemis said sarcastically.

"Really? No you got it all wrong, sis," he replied.

Everyone rolled their eyes.

**On the table next to me was a tall drink. It looked like iced apple juice, with a green straw and a paper parasol stuck through a maraschino cherry.**

"Mmmm, nectar," the boys all drooled.

The women muttered, "Idiotic boys and their appetites."

**My hand was so weak I almost dropped the glass once I got my fingers around it.**

"Couldn't blame you," Thalia shrugged.

"Why not?" Leo asked.

"Use your head, repair boy," Piper piped in.

"Ummm, because he's a wimp?" Leo asked.

Everyone besides Kronos, Hades, Zeus, Ares, and Clarisse glared at him.

"What?" he asked.

Piper hit him in the head. "Wrong answer," she replied.

**"Careful," a familiar voice said.**

**Grover was leaning against the porch railing, looking like he hadn't slept in a week. **

Grover looked down sadly.

"I hadn't and couldn't," he replied sadly.

Thalia and Annabeth put their arms around him.

"It's ok," replied Annabeth, "you tried your best.

**Under one arm, he cradled a shoe box. **

"Now, why would you need that?" Hermes asked.

Everyone besides PJ looked at him.

"You'll see," Grover replied faintly.

**He was wearing blue jeans, Converse hi-tops and a bright orange T-shirt that said CAMP HALF-BLOOD. Just plain old Grover, Not the goat boy.**

"That's his nickname though," Thalia said.

"No shit Sherlock," Nico replied, only to be zapped by volts of electricity.

"AGHHH!" he yelled.

**So maybe I'd had a nightmare. Maybe my mom was okay. **

Everyone looked down sadly.

**We were still on vacation, and we'd stopped here at this big house for some reason. And …**

"I wish that as it," Poseidon whispered.

PJ nodded.

**"You saved my life," Grover said. "I… well, the least I could do … I went back to the hill. I thought you might want this."**

"Are you saying, if he hadn't saved your life and if you made it through alive by yourself, you wouldn't have gotten him this?" Poseidon asked.

"I would've still gave it to him," Grover replied.

Poseidon nodded.

**Reverently, he placed the shoe box in my lap.**

**Inside was a black-and-white bull's horn, the base jagged from being broken off, the tip splattered with dried blood. It hadn't been a nightmare.**"

"How slow can you get?" Clarisse asked.

Everyone glared at her.

"Percy just lost his mother and you are asking him this?" Katie said in a sharp tone.

"So, who cares? Just man up!" Clarisse replied.

Wrong thing to say, wrong thing to say.

Annabeth got up and brought out her knife.

"Watch what you say, daughter of Ares," Annabeth growled in a cold menacing tone.

That tone caught Clarisse by surprise and she reluctantly sat down.

**"The Minotaur," I said.**

Percy came back to the throne room limping. He looked even worse now and also pale.

"What happened to you?" Reyna asked.

"Skeletons, evil," Percy managed to say.

"Umm dude, don't mess with Nico, it isn't a good idea," Jason replied.

"Thanks for consideration, Jason," Percy said sarcastically.

He looked at Nico.

"Ambrosia please," Percy said.

"Now that is what I like to hear," replied patting Percy in the back.

He handed Percy some ambrosia squares and he gulped it down greedily.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Katie yelled as she took away the squares, "not too much!"

"Gimme," he replied.

"No!" she replied.

"Come here son," Poseidon said to Percy who obliged.

Poseidon used the water to heal Percy.

"Thanks dad," Percy replied.

**"Urn, Percy, it isn't a good idea-"**

"Listen to Goat Boy," Thalia said.

**"That's what they call him in the Greek myths, isn't it?" I demanded. "The Minotaur. Half man, half bull."**

"That is absolutely correct Perseus Jackson," Athena replied.

**Grover shifted uncomfortably. "You've been out for two days. How much do you remember?"**

"Since he is really slow, I highly doubt Percy remembers a thing," Nico said.

**"My mom. Is she really …"**

Everyone put their heads down.

**He looked down.**

**I stared across the meadow. There were groves of trees, a winding stream, acres of strawberries spread out under the blue sky. The valley was surrounded by rolling hills, and the tallest one, directly in front of us, was the one with the huge pine tree on top. Even that looked beautiful in the sunlight.**

"What's that supposed to mean?" Thalia said dangerously, her eyes flashed like a streak of lightning down the center.

"You'll see" Percy replied.

**My mother was gone. The whole world should be black and cold. Nothing should look beautiful.**

"Oh," Thalia said "Sorry."

Percy shrugged.

**"I'm sorry," Grover sniffled. "I'm a failure. I'm-I'm the worst satyr in the world."**

"Yes, you are you dumb, idiotic, retarded, useless, miserable, failing, promise breaking, wimpy, asshole satyr," Zeus ranted.

"DADDY!" Thalia yelled, "he is not those adjectives you said!"

"Then explain, why he turned you into a pine tree and got Percy's mom killed!" Zeus thundered back.

Percy and PJ winced.

"First of all, I sacrificed myself and second of all, it was your fault that Grover was knocked unconscious with that stupid bolt of yours!" Thalia replied back.

"My bolt isn't stupid!" Zeus exclaimed.

"That is not my point! My point is you should get over me being turned into a pine tree and stop teasing Grover!" Thalia said.

"Yeah dad," Hermes replied, "cut that satyr some slack!"

"Fine! If I find out that he has failed one more mission, I will blast him! I don't care if someone in his team failed, if he fails to bring some one alive, I will incinerate him!" Zeus boomed.

Grover paled, remembering the loss of Annabeth when they were on a rescue mission. Thalia also noticed the worry in his eyes.

"What should we do?" Thalia asked," remember the incident with Bianca and Nico?"

Percy, Annabeth, and Nico paled.

"Let's wait till the 3rd book," Percy wisely said.

"What are you talking about, son?" Poseidon asked.

"Nothing dad, we were just arguing about….them pizza rolls," Percy replied.

Annabeth, Thalia and Nico snorted, while Hermes and Apollo chuckled.

**He moaned, stomping his foot so hard it came off. I mean, the Converse hi-top came off. The inside was filled with Styrofoam, except for a hoof-shaped hole.**

"Miserable satyr, blowing his cover," Zeus replied.

Thalia shot a glare at Zeus who just sighed.

**"Oh, Styx!" he mumbled.**

"Don't be cussing!" Hermes scolded, "that's my thing!"

Snickers were heard.

**Thunder rolled across the clear sky.**

"Damn straight it would," Zeus said.

"LANGUAGE!" almost everyone in the room yelled.

**As he struggled to get his hoof back in the fake foot, I thought, Well, that settles it.**

"Yup that settles it alright," Nico said.

**Grover was a satyr. I was ready to bet that if I shaved his curly brown hair, I'd find tiny horns on his head.**

"Please don't," Grover whimpered because of the looks on the Stoll brothers face and Hermes with his hands on a razor.

**I was alone. An orphan. I would have to live with … Smelly Gabe? **

"NO!" everyone yelled.

**No. That would never happen. I would live on the streets first. **

"No, son," Poseidon replied, "I won't let that happen."

**I would pretend I was seventeen and join the army. **

Ares snorted. "Punk would probably be noticed the first thing he says I wanna join the army."

**I'd do something.**

**Grover was still sniffling. The poor kid-poor goat, satyr, whatever-looked as if he expected to be hit.**

"By who?" Thalia asked murderously.

"The council of the cloven elders of course," Dionysus repled.

**I said, "It wasn't your fault."**

"Of course its not your fault! If there hadn't been a misunderstanding, we wouldn't even be in this siutation!" Annabeth glared at Kronos.

**"Yes, it was. I was supposed to protect you."**

Percy was about to say something but Grover stopped him.

"I know it was your fault," he said.

Percy continued to read.

"No it wasn't!" Annabeth yelled.

**"Did my mother ask you to protect me?"**

"That's his job," Zeus replied, which Thalia was grateful for.

**"No. But that's my job. I'm a keeper. At least… I was."**

"And you'

**"But why …" I suddenly felt dizzy, my vision swimming.**

"Why do you refer everything to water?" Travis asked.

No one bothered to answer the stupid question.

**"Don't strain yourself," Grover said. "Here." He helped me hold my glass and put the straw to my lips.**

"Can't you do it yourself punk?" Ares sneered.

"No," Percy replied, "can't you use your brain?"

"OOOH BURN!" Apollo replied.

"QUIET!" Ares yelled, his face purple.

**I recoiled at the taste,**

"Why? It's delicious," Connor said.

**because I was expecting apple juice. **

"Oh" Connor answered, "no wonder."

**It wasn't that at all. It was chocolate-chip cookies. **

"Choco chip," the men said in a trance.

**Liquid cookies. And not just any cookies-my mom's homemade blue chocolate-chip cookies, buttery and hot, with the chips still melting. **

"QUIET!" Apollo roared, "your making me hungry!"

Percy looked at him apologetically.

**Drinking it, my whole body felt warm and good, full of energy. **

"But not better than my energy rush from water!" Percy exclaimed.

**My grief didn't go away, but I felt as if my mom had just brushed her hand against my cheek, given me a cookie the way she used to when I was small, and told me everything was going to be okay.**

"Awwwww," Hera cooed.

"Mama's boy," Clarisse sneered.

**Before I knew it, I'd drained the glass. I stared into it, sure I'd just had a warm drink, but the ice cubes hadn't even melted.**

"I still wonder, how that process works," Percy said seriously to no one.

**"Was it good?" Grover asked.**

"OF COURSE!" all the demigods replied.

**I nodded.**

**"What did it taste like?" He sounded so wistful, I felt guilty.**

"Don't feel guilty Perce," Nico said mockingly.

**"Sorry," I said. "I should've let you taste."**

"NO!" everyone shouted.

"You wanted Grover to spontaneously combust?" Thalia asked.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know!" Percy said.

"You don't know a lot of things then huh Percy?" Gwen said and the future demigods jumped, they forgot that Gwen was there.

**His eyes got wide. "No! That's not what I meant. I just… wondered."**

**"Chocolate-chip cookies," I said. "My mom's. Homemade."**

"The best cookies, a gift from Elysium," Annabeth replied.

**He sighed. "And how do you feel?"**

**"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards."**

"Wow," Thalia said shaking her head.

**"That's good," he said. "That's good. I don't think you could risk drinking any more of that stuff.**

"Please don't drink anymore, son." Poseidon said.

"Don't worry dad," Percy replied.

**"What do you mean?"**

Sighs were heard around the room.

**He took the empty glass from me gingerly, as if it were dynamite, and set it back on the table. "Come on. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."**

"OH NO!" Nico gasped.

"He'll be introduced to Mr.D!" Thalia exclaimed.

"What's wrong with that?" D asked.

They shrugged.

**The porch wrapped all the way around the farmhouse.**

**My legs felt wobbly, trying to walk that far. Grover offered to carry the Minotaur horn, but I held on to it. I'd paid for that souvenir the hard way. I wasn't going to let it go.**

"Yes, don't let it go, keep it close to your heart," Poseidon said.

**As we came around the opposite end of the house, I caught my breath.**

**We must've been on the north shore of Long Island, because on this side of the house, the valley marched all the way up to the water, which glittered about a mile in the distance. **

"You would mention the water first," Gwen replied.

**Between here and there, I simply couldn't process everything I was seeing. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture-an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena-except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. **

"I know, I know it's very very cool," Apollo smiled.

"No one asked, idiot," Artemis replied.

**In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. **

"I love bolleyball," Nico replied.

"It's volleyball, Nico," Annabeth replied.

"No, it's not Nico!" Annabeth replied back.

Nico sighed. _Girls._

**Canoes glided across a small lake. **

"The lake is not small!" Chiron exclaimed.

**Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. **

"Playing tag is very fun," Travis replied. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Remember one time you got your undies stuck…." Connor began, when Travis clamped his hand around Connor's mouth.

**Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and, unless I was hallucinating, some of their horses had wings.**

"I love camp," All the demigods said, "and the Pegasi."

"We do too," the gods said and the demigods looked at them weird.

"We like it because we know our children are safe there," Hermes said. The demigods smiled and thought to themselves, _I guess the gods to care about us._

**Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. The blond-haired girl who'd spoon-fed me popcorn-flavored pudding was leaning on the porch rail next to them.**

"He recognized you!" Aphrodite squealed and the Percabeth couple blushed.

"Spoonfed just sounds so wrong," Nico snorted, then got slapped by Thalia.

**The man facing me was small, but porky. **

Dionysus huffed.

**He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. **

"That description makes me sound very weird," Dionysus replied.

"It's because you are weird," Zeus boomed.

**He looked like those paintings of baby angels- what do you call them, hubbubs? **

Hermes snorted, "Hubbubs."

**No, cherubs. That's it. He looked like a cherub who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park.**

"Why you little..." Dionysus said glaring at Percy while the Gods laughed.

"He got the description perfectly!" Apollo joked as he high fived Hermes.

**He wore a tiger-pattern Hawaiian shirt, and he would've fit right in at one of Gabe's poker parties, except I got the feeling this guy could've out-gambled even my stepfather.**

"Heck yeah I could!" he replied.

**"That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. Be polite. **

"YES, be polite," Dionysus said in a monotonous voice.

**The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. **

Annabeth and Athena smiled.

**She's just a camper, **

"What's that supposed to mean?" Annabeth replied, her voice dangerous.

**but she's been here longer than just about anybody. **

Annabeth relaxed slightly.

**And you already know Chiron… ."**

"Why do I have a feeling, he won't call Chiron by his real name.

**He pointed at the guy whose back was to me.**

**First, I realized he was sitting in the wheelchair. Then I recognized the tweed jacket, the thinning brown hair, the scraggly beard.**

"Ahhh, Chiron," everyone sighed.

**"Mr. Brunner!" I cried.**

"Grover just said Chiron," Katie replied.

**The Latin teacher turned and smiled at me. His eyes had that mischievous glint they sometimes got in class when he pulled a pop quiz and made all the multiple choice answers B.**

"Gotta love Chiron" Hermes said.

Chiron smiled again.

**"Ah, good, Percy," he said. "Now we have four for pinochle."**

"He doesn't even know how to play!" Poseidon exclaimed.

**He offered me a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you."**

"What a joyful soul you are Dionysus," Apollo joked.

"I know right?" he sighed.

Dionysus didn't recognize the sarcasm in Apollo's voice.

**"Uh, thanks." I scooted a little farther away from him because, if there was one thing I had learned from living with Gabe, it was how to tell when an adult has been hitting the happy juice. **

"Happy juice, really?" Nico asked.

**If Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, I was a satyr.**

"Oh he's no stranger," Zeus said eyeing Dionysus.

**"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the blond girl.**

"I'm still the blond girl?" Annabeth said.

"Not any more," Percy said and kissed her.

**She came forward and Mr. Brunner introduced us. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."**

"Wooooooo!" Connor and Travis said and threw their hands in the air "Go Hermes cabin!"

Hermes smiled.

**Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron."**

"Now, Annabeth can get names right," Thalia replied.

**She was probably my age, maybe a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic looking. **

"Yup, I was," she said happily.

"Not anymore," Percy said, as he took off his shirt, showing his 8 pack and his muscles.

All the girls in the room blushed while Aphrodite squealed.

**With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image. **

"What about my eyes?" Annabeth asked suspiciously.

**They were startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight.**

"Oh, that's why," Annabeth said.

"He went into detail with your description Annabeth" Nico said.

Annabeth blushed.

"Shut up" she said and Percy was also blushing.

**She glanced at the minotaur horn in my hands, then back at me. I imagined she was going to say, You killed a minotaur! or Wow, you're so awesome! or something like that.**

"Ego alert!" Thalia joked and Percy stuck his tongue at her.

"My ego gets better," Percy replied.

"Sure," Artemis snorted, "there is no hero without a lot of ego."

"Milday, what Percy said was true," Thalia replied. She was shocked.

**Instead she said, "You drool when you sleep."**

Everyone laughed hysterically.

"Amazing!" Thalia said high fiving Annabeth in the back with Nico.

Percy pouted and Annabeth leaned into him as he put his arm around her and she tucked her feet under her.

**Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her.**

Aphrodite was smiling like an idiot and was squirming in her seat still.

**"So," I said, anxious to change the subject. "You, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?"**

Everyone rolled their eyes.

**"Not Mr. Brunner," the ex-Mr. Brunner said. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym.**

"A what?" Connor asked.

"Pseudonym is a….." Annabeth started to say.

"Woah, woah, not now Annie girl," Percy replied, earning a glare from Annabeth.

**You may call me Chiron."**

"Please tell me he calls you Chiron from now on," Athena said/

"He does," he replied.

**"Okay." Totally confused, I looked at the director. "And Mr. D … does that stand for something?"**

"It stands for Mr. Dumbshit," Apollo said.

Everyone burst into laughter, while Dionysus glared at Apollo who smiled back sheepishly.

**Mr. D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly. "Young man, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."**

"Rude," Demeter said and Dionysus shrugged.

**"Oh. Right. Sorry."**

"You probably weren't sorry" Thalia said and Percy shook his head.

"How'd you know?" he asked.

"I know you well enough Kelp Head," she laughed.

**"I must say, Percy," Chiron-Brunner broke in,**

Everyone snorted.

"Chiron-Brunner," Hermes repeated.

**"I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time."**

"Yup, I hate it when you do something and it's all a waste of time," Katie said, as everyone nodded as if agreeing.

**"House call?"**

"House call?" Hermes also repeated.

**"My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. **

"Yeah like Hedge!" Leo cheered.

"And Grover!" Nico also cheered.

**But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. **

"See dad, Grover did something good for us," Thalia said to Zeus.

Zeus just nodded.

**I convinced the other Latin teacher to … ah, take a leave of absence."**

"I wonder how he did that," Connor wondered.

**I tried to remember the beginning of the school year. It seemed like so long ago, but I did have a fuzzy memory of there being another Latin teacher my first week at Yancy. Then, without explanation, he had disappeared and Mr. Brunner had taken the class.**

People raised an eyebrow.

**"You came to Yancy just to teach me?" I asked.**

"There goes the ego," Artemis sighed.

Apollo nodded.

"Nice job figuring it out, sis," he said.

He got slapped in the head.

**Chiron nodded. "Honestly, I wasn't sure about you at first. We contacted your mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. **

"You contacted my mom, but I didn't know about this?" Percy asked.

Chiron and Sally looked anywhere but at Percy.

**But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test."**

"Which I failed," Thalia said sadly.

Nico, Grover, Annabeth, and Percy put their arm around Thalia.

**"Grover," Mr. D said impatiently, "are you playing or not?"**

"Wow!" Apollo said shaking his head.

**"Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, though I didn't know why he should be so afraid of a pudgy little man in a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt.**

"He should be afraid!" Dionysus said and Grover nodded his head.

"Y-Y-Y-Yes s-s-s-sir" Grover stuttered.

"You Dionysus, you should be afraid of me!" Zeus thundered.

"Y-Y-Y-Yes f-f-father," Dionysus also stuttered.

Giggles were heard.

**"You do know how to play pinochle?" Mr. D eyed me suspiciously.**

"How does he?" Annabeth asked.

**"I'm afraid not," I said.**

"You forgot to add a sir, Peter," Dionysus said. Everyone rolled their eyes.

**"I'm afraid not, sir," he said.**

Nobody bothered to say anything.

**"Sir," I repeated. I was liking the camp director less and less.**

"No one likes him Percy," Piper said.

"My son likes me!" Dionysus said "And the satyrs! Right Grover?!"

"Yes sir," Grover nodded.

**"Well," he told me, "it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all civilized young men to know the rules."**

"My son is civil!" Poseidon yelled.

"Umm Pac-man?" Dionysus asked.

Poseidon just sighed.

**"I'm sure the boy can learn," Chiron said.**

"Yes, he can, and will," Annabeth said sternly.

**"Please," I said, "what is this place? What am I doing here? Mr. Brun-Chiron-why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach me?"**

"Full of yourself much?" Thalia asked and Nico snorted trying to old in a laugh.

"Did you two team up to pick on me and Annabeth?" Percy asked Thalia and Nico.

"No, only you," they said together.

"But we might also pick on Grover" Thalia said.

**Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same question."**

**The camp director dealt the cards. Grover flinched every time one landed in his pile.**

"You are very afraid," Katie observed.

Grover just shrugged.

**Chiron smiled at me sympathetically, the way he used to in Latin class, as if to let me know that no matter what my average was, I was his star student. He expected me to have the right answer.**

"Awwwww," some girls cooed.

"Chiron cares so much about you," Reyna said.

**"Percy," he said. "Did your mother tell you nothing?'**

"Bad use of grammar," Athena said, "it's anything, not nothing."

"I'll keep that in mind Lady Athena," Chiron replied.

**"She said …" I remembered her sad eyes, looking out over the sea. "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her."**

"She was right, I never want to leave but I somehow do." Percy said.

**"Typical," Mr. D said. "That's how they usually get killed. Young man, are you bidding or not?"**

"Way to break the silence, D," Hermes replied.

Dionysus shrugged.

**"What?" I asked.**

**He explained, impatiently, how you bid in pinochle, and so I did.**

"Very short tempered aren't ya Mr. D?" Apollo snickered.

"Brother," Dionysus said "Unless you want me to turn you into a grape vine for a millenia...be quiet!"

Apollo shut up.

**"I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient."**

"You've never seen the orientation film?" Annabeth asked.

"No wonder, your so slow!" Thalia exclaimed.

"We gotta show it to him!" Travis said.

Connor nodded right next to his brother.

**"Orientation film?" I asked.**

**"No," Chiron decided. "Well, Percy. You know your friend Grover is a satyr. **

"That's me!" Grover replied.

**You know"-he pointed to the horn in the shoe box-"that you have killed the Minotaur. No small feat, either, lad. **

"A very big feat!" Theseus said and winked at Percy. Percy blushed.

**What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods-the forces you call the Greek gods-are very much alive."**

"DUNDUNDUN!" Apollo chorused, only to get his head slapped, hard.

"OW!" he yelped.

"Shut it!" Artemis hissed.

**I stared at the others around the table.**

**I waited for somebody to yell, Not! **

"That would've been funny and cruel," Hera said.

**But all I got was Mr. D yelling, "Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!" He cackled as he tallied up his points.**

Everyone let out a snort.

**"Mr. D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?"**

"Wow Grover, just wow" Talia said shaking her head.

**"Eh? Oh, all right."**

"Your being nice, D," Hermes said.

**Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminum can and chewed it mournfully.**

"Poor goat boy," Thalia cooed fakely.

Grover looked grossed out.

**"Wait," I told Chiron. "You're telling me there's such a thing as God."**

"That's a different matter," Chiron said.

**"Well, now," Chiron said. "God-capital G, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical."**

"Same old Chiron," Hermes sighed.

**"Metaphysical? But you were just talking about-"**

**"Ah, gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter."**

"Smaller?!" Zeus said," we are a big matter. A very big matter. Who rules the sky, the sea, the underworld, is it not I and the other gods! Gods are a big matter, that can mean end to humans or not! We are not a smaller matter!"

"Chill with the lectures, dude," Hades replied looking at Zeus. Zeus just huffed.

**"Smaller?"**

"Great I am thinking like sea spawn!" Zeus said and Athena smirked at Poseidon.

**"Yes, quite. The gods we discussed in Latin class."**

**"Zeus," I said. "Hera. Apollo. You mean them."**

"Woo!" Apollo said and jumped up "I'm mentioned!"

"Sit down before you get an arrow through your thick head." Artemis said.

"Aww, you know you love me sis," he said.

"Don't call me sis!" she exclaimed.

**And there it was again-distant thunder on a cloudless day.**

"Sight, control your temper," Hera said to Zeus.

**"Young man," said Mr. D, "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around, if I were you."**

"That's the only smart thing you've said so far!" Demeter exclaimed.

**"But they're stories," I said. "They're-myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science."**

"He ain't gonna like that," Nico said.

"Everyone shut up until D's lecture is over!" Apollo yelled. Everyone nodded.

**"Science!" Mr. D scoffed. "And tell me, Perseus Jackson"-I flinched when he said my real name, which I never told anybody-"what will people think of your 'science' two thousand years from now?" Mr. D continued. "Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo. That's what. Oh, I love mortals-they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come so-o-o far. And have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me."**

**I wasn't liking Mr. D much, but there was something about the way he called me mortal, as if… he wasn't.**

"I'm not," Dionysus, "I'm a god!"

"A dumb one apparently," Zeus thundered.

**It was enough to put a lump in my throat, to suggest why Grover was dutifully minding his cards, chewing his soda can, and keeping his mouth shut.**

"If he didn't, I would blast him into dust, isn't that right satyr?" he asked.

"Yes sir, that is right," he replied.

**"Percy," Chiron said, "you may choose to believe or not, but the fact is that immortal means immortal. Can you imagine that for a moment, never dying? Never fading? Existing, just as you are, for all time?"**

"Sounds like a good deal" Connor said.

The Gods shook their heads.

"It's not" one of them said.

"Your under constant threat by him," Percy said pointing at Kronos.

Kronos glared.

**I was about to answer, off the top of my head, that it sounded like a pretty good deal, but the tone of Chiron's voice made me hesitate.**

"Chiron sometimes does that to you," Jason said, while everyone nodded their head.

**"You mean, whether people believed in you or not," I said.**

"Exactly," Chiron said.

**"Exactly," Chiron agreed. **

"Woah, don't repeat yourself," said Katie.

**"If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning? What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that someday people would call you a myth, just created to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers?"**

"Harsh," Piper muttered.

Chiron looked at Percy apologetically, but Percy just waved it off.

**My heart pounded. He was trying to make me angry for some reason, but I wasn't going to let him.**

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Gods and Goddesses," Thalia said "the only time Percy controlled his anger!"

She was doused with icy cold water.

"Percy!" Thalia yelled and the lightning was back in her eyes.

"Yes dear cousin" Percy asked and Thalia punched his arm and an electrical shock went through him.

"OW!" Percy complained.

"It's what you get" Thalia said.

Apollo turned to Hermes.

"Who do you think would win in a fight? Percy or Thalia?" he asked.

"Thalia hands down," Hermes said.

"Really?" Apollo asked.

"She is child of Zeus," Hermes replied.

"Percy would win," Nico said, "remember at Capture the Flag?"

Thalia and Percy winced.

**I said, "I wouldn't like it. But I don't believe in gods."**

"Oh you'd better," Zeus muttered. "Before one of them incinerates you."

**"Oh, you'd better," Mr. D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you."**

"I talk like a cherub!" Zeus exclaimed.

The room burst into laughter, while Dionysus groaned.

**Grover said, "P-please, sir. He's just lost his mother. He's in shock."**

"Thank you for seeing sense," said Poseidon.

Grover nodded and smiled.

**"A lucky thing, too," Mr. D grumbled, playing a card. "Bad enough I'm confined to this miserable job, working with boys who don't even believe.'"**

"I feel bad for you D," said Hades.

"At least someone understands me!" Dionysus exclaimed.

**He waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine.**

Zeus glared.

"Dionysus…" he warned.

**My jaw dropped, but Chiron hardly looked up.**

People laughed as they imagined the look on Percy's face, well except for Zeus who was glaring at his son.

**"Mr. D," he warned, "your restrictions."**

**Mr. D looked at the wine and feigned surprise.**

"You probably did it on purpose to show him who you were then acted as if it was an accident," Athena said.

Dionysus nodded and Zeus' glare softened.

**"Dear me." He looked at the sky and yelled, "Old habits! Sorry!"**

"Better be," Zeus muttered.

**More thunder.**

Like there was now.

**Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game.**

"Cut him some slack, will you?" Hades asked Zeus.

Zeus shook his head, "Rules, are rules."

**Chiron winked at me. "Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."**

"OFF LIMITS, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME DIONYSUS?" Zeus asked.

Dionysus nodded unhappily.

**"A wood nymph," I repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space.**

"She was pretty!" Dionysus complained.

Zeus' glare intensified.

**"Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me. **

"I Am the God of justice," Zeus said "And when I say off limits I mean OFF-LIMITS!"

Dionysus nodded.

**The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time-well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away-the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. **

"Brats?" Zeus asked. "Do you want 100 more years?"

"No father," Dionysus sighed unhappily.

**'Be a better influence,' he told me. 'Work with youths rather than tearing them down.' Ha.' Absolutely unfair."**

"I think it's fair," some people murmured.

**Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid.**

"You might as well be one," Zeus said.

**"And …" I stammered, "your father is …"**

Cue sighs in the room.

**"Di immortales, Chiron," Mr. D said. "I thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus, of course."**

"Yes, a disappointment," Zeus replied, while the demigods snickered.

**I ran through D names from Greek mythology. Wine. The skin of a tiger. The satyrs that all seemed to work here. The way Grover cringed, as if Mr. D were his master.**

"Satyrs are my servants," he said as everyone glared at him.

**"You're Dionysus," I said. "The god of wine."**

"No really?" Thalia asked.

"I thought he was Aphrodite," Nico said.

"WHAT?!" Aphrodite shrieked. "I am not that cherub looking little…."

"Now, now, dear, calm down," Ares pleaded.

Aphrodite huffed.

**Mr. D rolled his eyes. "What do they say, these days, Grover? Do the children say, 'Well, duh!'?"**

"DUH!" the demigods chorused.

**"Y-yes, Mr. D."**

**"Then, well, duh! Percy Jackson. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?"**

Aphrodite cringed and sent a glare at Dionysus who seemed unfazed.

**"You're a god."**

**"Yes, child."**

**"A god. You."**

Everyone laughed.

"I know, hard to believe," Zeus joked as the room burst into laughter.

**He turned to look at me straight on, and I saw a kind of purplish fire in his eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing me the tiniest bit of his true nature. I saw visions of grape vines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, sailors screaming as their hands turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts. I knew that if I pushed him, Mr. D would show me worse things. He would plant a disease in my brain that would leave me wearing a strait-jacket in a rubber room for the rest of my life.**

"That is why dear demigods, you don't push my buttons," Dionysus said and glared at the campers.

"Only I can," Zeus thundered, "isn't that right?"

"Yes father," Dionysus replied.

**"Would you like to test me, child?" he said quietly.**

**"No. No, sir."**

**The fire died a little. He turned back to his card game. "I believe I win."**

"YES! I FINALLY WON!" Dionysus said. "Dad, wine for all?!"

"NO!" Zeus boomed as Dionysus shrunk back to his seat.

"Way to ruin a good moment," D muttered.

"What'd you say?!" Zeus thundered back.

**"Not quite, Mr. D," Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said, "The game goes to me."**

Everyone laughed, Zeus the loudest as Dionysus slouched back and grumbled something about cheating horses.

**I thought Mr. D was going to vaporize Chiron right out of his wheelchair, **

"Oh, he wouldn't dare, right Dionysus?" Zeus asked.

"Of course not father, these brats need their mentor," Dionysus replied.

**but he just sighed through his nose, as if he were used to being beaten by the Latin teacher. **

"Always does, and never will win," Chiron winked.

Everyone sniggered while Dionysus sighed through his nose.

**He got up, and Grover rose, too.**

**"I'm tired," Mr. D said. "I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, again, about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment."**

"It was my choice," Thalia shot at Dionysus a glare.

"Quiet Tori," Dionysus replied.

"What'd you say!?" she asked as her body started giving out electricity.

"You heard me, Thanatos," Dionysus boredly replied.

"I'm not the god of death, get your facts right!" Thalia exclaimed.

"Ohhhh, burn," Hermes replied.

"Shut up," Dionysus replied.

**Grover's face beaded with sweat. "Y-yes, sir."**

**Mr. D turned to me. "Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. And mind your manners."**

"Does he ever?" Nico asked and Annabeth shook her head.

"You should, Jackson," Kronos said.

"Do you ever mind your manners?" Percy asked Kronos.

That question got a snort from everyone.

**He swept into the farmhouse, Grover following miserably.**

"Poor satyr," Lil' Percy managed to say.

"AWWWWWWW," all the females in the room cooed.

**"Will Grover be okay?" I asked Chiron.**

"He better," Thalia said, as she shot Dionysus a glare.

**Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. "Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job. **

"Of course, I hate this job, who wouldn't?" Dionysus asked.

"I don't," Chiron replied.

"You heard that Dionysus?" Zeus asked.

"Yes father," D mumbled.

**He's been … ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus."**

"Yes, I want to come back to Olympus!" Dionysus pouted.

"No," Zeus replied simply.

Hermes and Apollo cackled.

**"Mount Olympus," I said. "You're telling me there really is a palace there?"**

"Don't say a word, I was still in shock," Percy said to the people who were about to speak.

**"Well now, there's Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there's the home of the gods, the convergence point of their powers, which did indeed used to be on Mount Olympus. It's still called Mount Olympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, Percy, just as the gods do."**

"Yup, we do," Poseidon happily agreed.

**"You mean the Greek gods are here? Like … in America?"**

"Is this America, boy?" Artemis asked.

"Yes," Percy replied.

"There you have your answer," Artemis replied.

**"Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West."**

"Now for clueless Percy," Nico said and everyone laughed as Percy pouted.

**"The what?"**

"Just as I thought," Nico smirked while the laughter kept going on.

**"Come now, Percy. What you call 'Western civilization.' Do you think it's just an abstract concept? **

"I wish," Percy muttered earning a good glare from all the gods present in the room.

**No, it's a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. **

"That's how beast we are," Apollo said while beating his chest.

"Shut it!" Artemis said as she hit Apollo.

**The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn't possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization were obliterated. **

"Which was someone's goal," Percy said glaring at Kronos.

"Who?" Zeus boomed.

"You'll see later on," Percy replied.

**The fire started in Greece. Then, as you well know-or as I hope you know, since you passed my course-the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods. **

"Rome, ughh," Athena said.

**Oh, different names, perhaps-Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on-but the same forces, the same gods."**

"Percy, please don't say anything stupid," Annabeth said.

"Judging from how Percy is doing, he will probably say something bad that might tick the gods off," Nico replied.

Poseidon groaned.

**"And then they died."**

"Are you frickin serious?" Hazel asked.

Everyone looked at Percy intently.

"Alright, alright I made a mistake ok?!" Percy said frustrated.

"Still, the gods dead?" Nico asked, "what planet have you been in the last 16 years?"

That put everyone in laughter.

"Shut up!" Percy said to everyone.

Theseus punched Percy in the shoulder, "Don't worry bro, we all makes mistakes," he said while laughing.

**"Died? No. Did the West die? The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, **

"I loved France," Aphrodite said.

"Why?" Athena asked.

"Paris! The city of Love and the place is beautiful!" Aphrodite said, "because of this hot muscular guy, who…"

"Alright, enough!" Artemis replied.

**to Spain,**

"I like Spain," Demeter said.

"Why?" Athena asked.

Demeter replied, "I love their accents."

Hades rolled his eyes while Nico did the same.

"What?" she asked.

**for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. **

"Yup we were," Hermes said cheerfully.

**They spent several centuries in England. **

"England," Apollo snorted, "it was very boring."

**All you need to do is look at the architecture. **

"That sounds very fun!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"Yes it is daughter," Athena replied, "very fun."

**People do not forget the gods. **

"Mortals forgot them…." Apollo started to say.

**Every place they've ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in paintings, in statues, on the most important buildings. **

"You mean like our field trip to the Greek and Roman museum?" Percy asked.

"Exactly," Chiron replied.

**And yes, Percy, of course they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. **

"People love me," Zeus said cheerfully while his brothers rolled their eyes.

**Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. **

Everyone glared at Zeus.

"What?" he asked.

"Prometheus didn't deserve that punishment," Thalia spat.

**I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not-and believe me, plenty of people weren't very fond of Rome, either-America is now the heart of the flame. **

"Why weren't people fond of Rome?" Gwen asked.

Reyna replied, "Maybe because we were too harsh."

**It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here. And we are here."**

"Yes we are!" Hades said.

**It was all too much, especially the fact that I seemed to be included in Chiron's we, as if I were part of some club.**

"The club for demigods!" the demigods said together, cheering.

**"Who are you, Chiron? Who … who am I?"**

"Dramatic!" Thalia said.

**Chiron smiled. He shifted his weight as if he were going to get up out of his wheelchair, but I knew that was impossible. **

"It sure is possible," Chiron said offended.

**He was paralyzed from the waist down.**

"Nope I am not!" Chiron replied huffing.

"Sorry I didn't know," Percy replied

**"Who are you?" he mused. "Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it? **

"Only people who don't know their identity," Hera replied.

**But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. **

"Let's go Hermes cabin!" Travis and Connor cheered.

Hermes beamed with pride.

**There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be s'mores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate."**

"Only Chiron," Annabeth said, smiling and shaking her head.

"Hey! I'm right here!" Chiron replied.

"Oops sorry," Annabeth said blushing while Percy was cracking up.

"And of course I like chocolate! Hershey's!" Chiron replied.

"Pshh, snickers for the win!" Percy replied.

"No! Recess is much better!" Nico said.

"Your all wrong, gummy bears!" Apollo said.

Everyone looked at him.

"Gummy bear isn't chocolate!" Artemis replied.

"Oh really, I thought they were," Apollo said.

Everyone rolled their eyes and some groaned.

**And then he did rise from his wheelchair. **

"Of course I did, I'm a centaur!" Chiron said.

"And we're gods!" the gods chorused.

"And were Greeks!" the Greeks chorused.

"And were Romans!" the Romans chorused.

"AND WERE DEMIGODS!" they all chorused and the whole council burst into laughter.

**But there was something odd about the way he did it. **

"What could be odd about that?" Chiron asked.

**His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn't move. **

"I guess that looks kind of odd, for a newbie," Chiron said.

Nico and Thalia cracked up.

**His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. At first, I thought he was wearing very long, white velvet underwear,**

People laughed.

"Underwear?" Chiron asked disgusted.

**but as he kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man, **

"Yup, taller than any man!" Chiron replied puffing his chest.

Everyone cracked up.

**I realized that the velvet underwear wasn't underwear; it was the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under coarse white fur. And the wheelchair wasn't a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels, and it must've been magic, because there's no way it could've held all of him. **

"It's not magic, but it may seem like magic, thanks to Heph here," Chiron said pointing to Hephaestus.

**A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof. Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box was empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached.**

"You almost gave me a heart attack," Percy said.

"So close!" Chiron replied.

"CHIRON!" Percy pouted as everyone laughed.

**I stared at the horse who had just sprung from the wheelchair: a huge white stallion. **

"Stallion. Don't call me that," Chiron replied.

**But where its neck should be was the upper body of my Latin teacher, smoothly grafted to the horse's trunk.**

"Should I find that offensive?" Chiron asked.

"Nope, you shouldn't," Athena replied.

"Ok then," Chiron said.

**"What a relief," the centaur said. "I'd been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep. Now, come, Percy Jackson. Let's meet the other campers."**

"WOOT!" Other campers," Travis replied, getting smacked by Katie.

"DONE!" Jason replied.

"Who wants to read next?" Hera asked, but was cut off because a bright light illuminated from the room.

**OK guys here it is. Enjoy!**


End file.
